'A master storyteller' Daily MailDecember, 1860. An army of men is heading to the Swindon Locomotive Works for the morning shift from their nearby terraced houses built by the GWR. Frank Rodman should have been among them, but his new destination is the grave – or it will be, once his missing head is found.Christmas is fast approaching, and the last thing Inspector Colbeck needs is a complex case, mired in contradictions. As he wrestles with one crime, he is alarmed to hear of another – the abduction of Superintendent Tallis. With Sergeant Leeming by his side, the Railway Detective finds himself in a hectic race to solve a brutal murder and save the superintendent's life before it's too late.