Edinburgh, 1886: Evil has a new name .

A religious academic is mutilated on one of the city's finest streets. The grave of a famous colonel is ravaged. A shady entrepreneur is slaughtered while dashing for a train. A retired lighthouse keeper is ripped to shreds while walking his dog.What monster is responsible? Is there a connection between the victims? And what of Evelyn Todd, the anguished young woman who claims to have dreamed the atrocities in detail, and repeatedly blames 'the lamplighter'? Leading the official investigation is the barely competent Inspector Carus Groves.

Pursuing more 'unofficial' lines of inquiry are Thomas McKnight, a jaded philosophy professor, and his compassionate young assistant, Joseph Canavan. Using every resource at their disposal - reason, logic, intuition and sheer luck - these men must find the killer before the diabolical force is unleashed once again.