Prologue and The Chamber of Horrors Summary

Inspector John Rebus is a detective from Scotland who is requested to come to London to help with the hunt for a serial killer based on his experience in a prior case. Rebus is uncomfortable with the idea that he is an expert in finding serial killers and hopes only to be of assistance.

In the prologue, Rebus is on a train for London, happily listening to a group of sports fans grieve over their team's loss to the Scots in the Calcutta Cup. Rebus is headed to London at the request of the Metropolitan Police to help hunt a serial killer the press has dubbed the Wolfman. Rebus is glad for the break because he recently offended his boss in a moment of drunken thoughtlessness and has been riding a desk every...