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.