Daniel Pitt

It is 1910, and the century is full of change. Sir Thomas Pitt, head of Special Branch, has persuaded his son, Daniel, to take on his first case as a newly qualified barrister. Having successfully defended his client and made a lifelong friend, Daniel is summoned to the Old Bailey to assist in the defence of renowned biographer Russell Graves, who is accused of the brutal murder and disfigurement of his wife. When the jury finds him guilty, Graves is sentenced to be hanged in 21 days.

Daniel Pitt is delighted that his sister is visiting London with her American husband, Patrick, a policeman, and their young daughters. But Patrick's trip has another purpose, for which he enlists Daniel's help. Philip Sidney, a young British diplomat, is accused of robbery and assault in Washington, but he has taken diplomatic immunity and fled to England. The perfect opportunity to obtain justice presents itself when Sidney is accused of a small embezzlement at the British embassy in the USA, but as Daniel digs deeper into the case it becomes clear that vengeance is involved.

It is 1910, and a warehouse fire on the banks of the Thames has left one criminal dead and another charged with his murder. Convinced of his innocence, Jessie Beale begs barrister Daniel Pitt to defend the accused. It's a hopeless case - unless Daniel can find an expert witness, whose testimony on fire damage is so utterly convincing that any jury would believe him. Daniel's friend Miriam Ford Croft was taught by formidable forensic scientist Sir Barnabas Saltram, who has built his reputation on giving evidence of this kind.

It is May 1911 when Daniel Pitt is summoned to a murder scene in the slums of London's East End. He fears the victim is his friend Toby Kitteridge, but relief is quickly followed by dismay when Daniel identifies the dead man as Jonah Drake, a distinguished senior barrister who has been killed with a double-edged sword. But what was Drake doing in Mile End? And does their head of chambers, Marcus Fford Croft, know more than he is willing to admit? With the police holding out little hope of finding Drake's killer, Daniel and Kitteridge rise to the challenge.

Daniel Pitt is defending an old college professor from Cambridge who has been accused of plagiarism, when a series of brutal murders occurs on the streets of London. The rainy-day slasher, as the crazed killer becomes known, violently attacks his victims in the pouring rain and then removes one of their fingers before leaving the bodies.

When a heart attack forces Marcus fford Croft to retire from his chambers, his daughter Miriam and son-in-law Daniel are relieved that he is stepping down and handing over to Toby Kitteridge. But Daniel and Toby are concerned that their new recruit, who is a brilliant barrister with a penchant for taking risks, could jeopardise their hard-won reputation. Daniel's old friend Inspector Ian Frobisher then alerts him to the fact that one of England's most influential newspaper tycoons, Malcolm Vayne, is about to be arrested for fraud.