In November 1917, the Great War continues. William Murdoch is a widower and senior detective who spends his time tracking down bootleggers and tipplers. His wife, Amy, died giving birth to their second child, a girl who died as well. Murdoch, racked by grief, withdrew from his other child Jack, which he comes to regret. Jack, now twenty-one, returns from France after being wounded in battle. The night after Jack and his comrade McKinnon arrive home, a young man is found beaten to death in an impoverished area of Toronto known as the Ward. Soon after, Murdoch has to deal with the tragic suicide of a young man. Two more attacks follow in quick succession. The only common denominator is that all of the men were exempted from conscription. Increasingly worried that Jack knows more than he says, Murdoch must solve these crimes before more innocent lives are lost.