Rival legends - the police forces in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic - form an uneasy alliance as homicide detective Adam Kincaid tracks a serial killer during the brutal civil war known as The Troubles.

Each murder duplicates the medieval-torture death of a famous saint or martyr, leading Inspector Kincaid to a high-level Church-State cover up and a notorious, border-hopping priest whose infamous crimes the All Saints Slayer, aka the Crucifix Killer, may be trying to avenge.

Skeptical about institutions he has embraced since childhood, Kincaid must overcome suppressed fears, buried secrets, and physical injuries to identify a brilliant, ruthless adversary in the chaos of combat and divided loyalties in a land at war with itself.