In the mid-summer of the first year of the 20th century, a killer heatwave grips the city of Toronto. And it's not the only killer out there.

A very public suicide and a gruesome murder trigger fear and panic that, after an 11-year hiatus, England's notorious 'Jack the Ripper' has not only resurfaced but is now stalking Toronto's melting-pot slum, St. John's Ward, simply known as 'The Ward'.

As the events combine to stretch the resources and capacity of the Metropolitan Toronto police, they reluctantly enlist the fading skills of inspector Ifan Davies, a one-time gang member, petty thief and whore-house muscle from the very streets he now returns.Now middle-aged, he brings plenty of baggage, damaged by alcohol, drugs and crippling memories of a tragic love.

Through his connections to the underworld, we follow Davies and a cast of colourful characters through the belly of this urban squalour. Here he fights not only his addiction but also the privileged powers who run the city, its police - and very possibly the country- to uncover the truth behind the Ripper's trans-Atlantic return.