The Seed of Ordinary Malice

In the Republic of Westbrook, gentle antique restorer Elias Kavanagh is convicted of murdering a rival dealer based on ambiguous evidence manipulated by prosecutor-general Dominic Ashford, ambitious journalist Lena Ström, and a corrupt preservation society. After thirty-two years in the infamous Ironmere Prison, a dying juror's confession frees him at seventy-one. With law student Sofía Navarro, Elias unravels how a petty antiques dispute escalated into a conspiracy that reveals that the most devastating evil is born not from grand villainy, but from the quiet germination of ordinary desires—envy, careerism, and pride—allowed to take root in the shadows of decent men.