A few weeks before the outbreak of the infamous Ripper murders in 1888, Detective Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft of the Whitechapel Constabulary is sent to the peaceful county town of Worcester to investigate the unexpected disappearance of the Cathedral librarian and the priceless medieval manuscript known as the Whisperie. Aided by his former colleague Constable Tom Crabb, Ravenscroft soon encounters a dark world of murder, lies, and deceit within the walls of the ancient cathedral, and gradually uncovers an unsolved mystery dating back nearly 40 years. Meanwhile in London, events are nearing a dramatic climax as the mysterious woman in black attempts to gain her revenge in the darkened alleyways of Whitechapel. It is not long before the two contrasting worlds of Worcester and Whitechapel become intertwined in unsettling and frightening ways.