In this dead city, the vultures are circling...

Berlin 1944. The beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. And the beginning of a dark journey for Garda detective Stefan Gillespie as he makes his way through war-ravaged Europe to the German capital. He carries secret instructions for the Irish ambassador, who is clinging on in the growing chaos - even though it's time to get out. Bombs fall and bodies fill the streets. People starve. The true horrors of Nazi terror are everywhere now... and the Russians are coming. As Stefan searches for an Irishman trapped in Berlin who has betrayed his country and his friends, who cares if people are murdered along the way? And Stefan has to ask himself if saving one life matters in this devastation. And if it does, is it worth him risking his own?

'...Once again, in this Stefan Gillespie thriller, Michael Russell blends real history with fiction to brilliant effect in a raw and unfiltered view of the results of total war on civilian life.' Irish Independent

'One of the most engrossing Irish series, this ninth Gillespie novel is as memorable as the first' Irish Times