In the dark waters beneath the streets of Victorian Dublin, a gruesome discovery awaits Detective Inspector Joe Swallow — diamonds and death in the River Poddle.

Swallow and the legendary Chief Superintendent John Mallon must also work tirelessly to counter espionage and subterfuge by the British secret services, who are hell-bent on destroying Charles Stewart Parnell and the Irish struggle for Home Rule. If Parnell falls, the G-men of Dublin’s Metropolitan Police fear the chaos that will rise in his wake.

As Swallow struggles to hold his marriage together, he must choose between the life he wants and the career he has built. The pressure mounts on Swallow from all sides: a death under Dublin, an Irish journalist murdered in Madrid, the pursuit of a suspect across the breadth of Ireland and all the while, the sinister machinations of the British Empire against the ‘uncrowned king’.

Conor Brady returns with a masterfully thrilling tale of intrigue, treachery and suspense.

The Guarding of Ireland – The Garda Síochána and the Irish State 1960–2014