Driving home one night from his mother's funeral, Chief Inspector Dalliance suddenly finds himself embroiled once more in a new string of murders - and a dangerous, cynical game targeting the lowest, the most vulnerable, and the most desperate. His own life unravelling around him, Dalliance is cast out of the investigation under the guise of compassionate leave. But as the case grows increasingly personal, he strikes out on his own to solve the sinister riddle, with or without official sanction. With the victims chosen from the voiceless, invisible underclass, and human life seemingly valued at nothing, local feuds and professional politics begin to take precedence. Perhaps only Dalliance, with so little left to lose, can take on the Hangman and win.