Set in 19th century England, a bustling crowd boards the Great Western Railway Excursion train on their way to an illegal championship fight in Maidenhead. As the rowdiness of the crowd increases, the train s guard fears "for the safety of his rolling stock". The last thing he expects to find is the brutal murder of one of his passengers, Jake Bransby. Once the shocking discovery of the body is made, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and his assistant Inspector Leeming, are called to the scene. Faced with what initially appears to be a motiveless murder Colbeck is perplexed by the murder weapon, a noose -- until he later discovers Bransby previously worked as a public executioner. However, the more he delves into the case the more mysterious it seems to become. After a second death by noose takes place Colbeck knows he must act quickly. Can he catch the murderer before more lives are lost? -- Publisher's description.