London, 1958. Chief Inspector Michael Jericho of Scotland Yard is called to investigate a murder in Notting Hill. A young black man, Roy Marlowe, was shot on his way home from work at the local bus depot. Tension in the neighborhood between the black and white communities has been brewing for a while, and it’s about to hit fever pitch.

Jericho investigates the death of Johnny Swan, a star of British athletics and a national hero following his defeat of the Soviet champion, Vladimir Vukic. Together with three other runners, Swan is a key part of the nation’s “Golden Boys.”

Valentine’s Day, 1958. Charles Hewitt, an eminent H-bomb scientist, is found garroted with cheese wire on the banks of the Thames. His mouth has been stuffed with newspaper, there’s lipstick on his neck and strands of blonde hair are found on the shoulder of his jacket.

A serial killer, who targets courting couples, is on the loose in London just as a great smog descends on the capital, shutting the entire city down. When the mutilated bodies of a young couple are found in Battersea park, the press believe it to be the return of the ‘Butcher’ who is believed to be responsible for a series of unsolved murders from the thirties.