In the thirty-third year of the Jiajing reign, a death-row inmate suddenly dies in prison, and Shen Mo, a low-ranking jailer, becomes the scapegoat overnight.
No powerful backers, no outside help, no legendary weapons. He has only an eye for detail and a careful, calculated mind.
He examines corpses for clues, reasons through cases in the interrogation room, investigates the streets for buried secrets, and turns the power plays of officialdom to his advantage.
Starting with a murder case pinned on him, Shen Mo uses his meticulous mind to tear away the respectable facade of local gentry and tyrants, expose a case within a case, and uncover a chain of corruption.
Others use their fists to throw their weight around. He uses his wits to survive.
Others rise through connections. He lets the evidence speak.
He neither bows to the powerful nor becomes their lackey, and he has no time for hollow, hot-blooded comebacks.
With meticulous reasoning and a deep understanding of human nature, he rises from a lowly jailer to turn the whole board upside down and shake the officialdom of the Great Ming.
