You need a very long spoon indeed to dine with the devil. Early one summer morning while the pavements are still empty, two bombs explode in an East London street, shattering most of the houses. Forewarned of an attack by anarchists, Thomas Pitt of the Special Branch arrives in time to chase the bombers to a run-down tenement in Long Spoon Lane. There, two men are arrested and one shot dead - but who and where and is the killer? As Pitt starts to investigate the crime, he uncovers truths more disturbing than the acts of a few misguided idealists. There's a web of corruption within the police force, and all the clues point to Inspector Wetron of Bow Street as its mastermind. Worse, as head of the sinister, invisible Inner Circle, Wetron has powerful allies in every sphere, and it's almost impossible to pin his guilt to him. Fears aroused by the attack are being whipped up by the press, and a bill to arm the London police is about to be rushed through Parliament. Then Pitt's most deadly enemy, Sir Charles Voisey, approaches him with the proposal that they join forces, to prevent Wetron becoming the most powerful man in England. Pitt feels he has no option. In spite of the danger to himself, his family and his colleagues, he must agree.

Genre: Historical Mystery