A series of murders has shaken the community of Limehouse in Victorian London to the point where people believe that only a legendary creature from dark times – the Golem – must be responsible. When the music-hall star Elizabeth Cree is accused of poisoning her husband John on the same night as the last Golem murder, Inspector John Kildare discovers evidence linking John Cree to the Golem murders and wants to solve the cases before Elizabeth is hanged.