It's World War 2 and London is still reeling from the Blitz. Although the blackout gives some protection from German bombers, it also provides the perfect hunting ground for criminals. When a woman is found strangled in an air raid shelter, and soon after another woman is brutally butchered, police suspect a serial killer is at work. The press dub him the Blackout Ripper. 

Chief Superintendent Fred Cherrill, head of Scotland Yard's fingerprint department and a pioneer in this area of forensics, joins the case. Armed with his magnifying glass, Cherrill discovers marks left behind on makeshift weapons that show the murderer is left-handed. But with little else to go on, and another woman's body discovered, police are struggling to crack the case. However, as the sadistic killer becomes more frenzied, he begins to make mistakes and leaves behind two crucial clues to his identity. When the police finally trace him, he does not fit the usual profile of a killer. In the face of lies and cover-ups, Superintendent Cherrill must use his skills to build a case that will see the Blackout Ripper convicted and stopped, once and for all.

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