After her shop in Italy is destroyed by a stranger and she becomes the target of a blackmailer who turns up dead, Lavinia Lake joins forces with Tobias March, a private investigator hired by a secret employer, to uncover the truth, save her reputation, and find the sole surviving member of a dangerous criminal gang.

Regency sleuths Lavinia Lake and Tobias March stumble into the middle of a deadly mystery as they become caught up in the search for a killer who targets wealthy older men on the brink of marrying beautiful, much younger women.