The report

In wartime London, the Underground stations have been turned into air-raid shelters. In Bethnal Green, families from the East End and newcomers from abroad alike spend their nights on the platforms while sirens sound overhead. One evening in early March, a rush of people hurrying down the stairwell turns into disaster, and 173 people, children and adults, are killed in the crush.

With the neighborhood grieving and angry, residents press for a formal inquiry into what happened. The task of investigating falls to Laurence Dunne, a young magistrate who must examine the tragedy and its causes.