A shadowy figure controls a cabal of criminals that could bring London to its knees In the black of night, a gang of workmen gather in the forest of France to assemble a guillotine. They open a few bottles of wine as they work, and one hammers a nail into the wrong spot. At dawn, the nail blocks the blade, and a prisoner survives to escape his fate. Many years later, that nail will doom more than a dozen men. In London, a ruined financier stands on the verge of committing suicide. He is contemplating a fatal dram of poison when he hears a voice behind him offering money enough to clear his debts in exchange for complete and total obedience. Thus a new member is initiated into the sprawling criminal organization known as the Crimson Circle. Its members don't know one another, and none knows their ruler's face—but he knows them, and he will use his power to shake Britain to its very core. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.