Psychological thriller drama is set in 1896 when a series of gruesome murders of boy prostitutes has gripped New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Teddy Rosevelt calls upon Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a criminal psychologist – aka alienist – and newspaper illustrator John Moore to conduct the investigation in secret. Joining them in the probe is Sara Howard, the headstrong secretary to the police commissioner, as well as the Jewish twin brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, both detective sergeants in the NYPD