"When the body of a small-time crook named Mickey Parfitt washes up on the tide, no one grieves. But William Monk, commander of the River Police, is puzzled by the expensive silk cravat used to strangle Parfitt. Informers lead Monk to what may be a partial answer-a floating palace of corruption on the Thames managed by Parfitt, where a captive band of half-starved boys are forced to perform vile acts. Further investigation takes Monk and his wife, Hester, to an unresolved crime from the past, to blackmail and more murder, and to a deadly confrontation with some of the empire's most respected men" -- Cover verso.