Summary

Prologue and Chapters 1-3

Prologue

Jakob Kuisl is just a teen, but already he is an apprentice to his father, the Schongau Hangman. Jakob wakes his father from an alcohol fueled sleep on the morning of Elisabeth Clement’s execution. Jakob prepares the cart and the necessary equipment, excited to be allowed to witness his first beheading. Jakob recognizes his father’s compassion for the young girl whose only crime is that she allowed herself to be seduced by a local man in the potion he offers her before the execution. When all is ready, Jakob’s father asks him to hold the young girl still as he makes the cut. Jakob fails, however, letting her slip at the last moment, causing a simple beheading to become a gruesome spectacle. In the aftermath of the blood and gore, Jakob makes a...