Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson - a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances. Simpson's protege Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron's name. Part two in the series following "The Way of All Flesh".