Following his shocking discovery on the banks of the Thames, Inspector Marlott visits the house of artist and printmaker William Blake, who is on his deathbed but receives Marlott as a prophet of things to come. Later, Marlott confers with Nightingale, a local policeman who has been keeping watch on The Fortune of War, a public house known as a place where body snatchers gather. The pair set up a cunning sting to capture a person of interest who may be able to help them with their investigation.