The story also uncovers a conspiracy from within the Dublin administration and a long-held family secret. Wayland is pursued by an old army acquaintance, but with Sam’s help, he sees through the subterfuge. The book concludes with a dilemma for Sam and Lizzie, whose relationship has stumbled into existence throughout the narrative and is resolved in Book 3.

The series transports the reader to the Peak District, where the rugged wilderness clashes with the centuries-old practices of quarrying and mining due to the Industrial Revolution by the 1870s. In the first book, “Fatal Connections”, a rail accident nearly conceals a murder, setting off a chain of events involving lust, greed, and violence as the crime is investigated.

Throughout the narrative, Sgt Sam Spray, the investigator, saves his superior, Chief Spt. Wayland, from an embarrassing error, while also developing a romantic interest in his landlady, Lizzie Oldroyd, which is hindered by Sam’s concerns about an inheritance.