Of all the robbers who cast fear and terror at the end of the 18th century, Hannikel was one of the most feared. Just the sound of his name was enough to make any child in the Black Forest or Elsace tremble. And Hannikel is on the run, with his most loyal men, along with their women and children. Where can he find a safe place for them? Jacob Schäffer, the head magistrate of Sulz, is obsessed with one mission: to put a stop to robbers, crooks and gypsies. After an honour killing, he finally tracks Hannikel down to a sighting in Chur, in Graubünden. Wilhelm Grau, Schäffer's clerk, has been in on the hunt for the Hannikel band from the start. But he is finding it increasingly difficult to see these people as monsters – especially Dieterle, Hannikel's eleven-year old son. A gripping and lively novel which leads the reader from gypsy camps in the depths of the Black Forest to the private quarters of Duke Karl Eugen and his wife Franziska. A tense and multi-layered novel, based on the true story of the robber Hannikel.