Having secretly married a woman his family would not approve of, wealthy entrepreneur Corporal Tom Preston writes a new will to make sure she and their unborn child are provided for if he does not return from the Great War. When Preston is later reported killed, Elizabeth Miles and her fiancé, Gideon Bates, learn that the document has gone missing after the soldier's bride revealed her identity to his family. Unless the new will is found and validated, Preston's brother will inherit a fortune and the wife and child will get nothing. In this third adventure (after City of Secrets), threats have been leveled against Preston's widow, and Elizabeth and Gideon must figure out a way, legal or not quite, to save her life and her inheritance.