Westminster Hall, 13 December 1828.

Midnight. Thousands are massed outside. Newspapers are holding their presses.

James Lambert, a young apothecary-surgeon, has accused a leading surgeon at Guy's Hospital of killing a patient. Never before has a doctor's competence been challenged in a court.

What drove him to take on the medical establishment, risking everything he'd always wanted?

For two centuries his contribution to the making of modern health care has lain unrecognised.

This novel, based on true events, tells his extraordinary story.