Publisher's Synopsis
"Edinburgh, 1865. Inspector Allerdyce is dragged away from his young family in the middle of a bitter winter night with urgent orders: investigate the disappearance of a fabulously wealthy mine owner and landowner, the Duke of Dornoch. Matched up with a new sergeant--Crimean War and Indian Mutiny veteran Hector McGillivray--he initiates a search of the taverns, bawdy houses, and dog-fighting rings that the duke frequented for nights of debauchery. But his hunt uncovers something far more sinister...Was the duke murdered by one of the miners whose wages he cut because of 'market forces'? Was he killed in return for his part in clearing the Highlands of their people? Did a discarded lover take their final revenge? Inspector Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray VC must find out before the killer strikes again. Determined to get to the truth, their search takes them deep into the depopulated wilderness of Sutherland, and from the material hei
