A man dies in a pool of blood in a filthy London brickyard, in this 26th entry in Anne Perry's late Victorian historical mystery series. But he was no derelict, he was an agent with information of a plot against Her Majesty's government. Special Branch officer Thomas Pitt, hastening to catch him, arrived only seconds after an assassin had cut the man's throat. Even as Pitt chases the killer to France, his supervisor Victor Narraway is hamstrung by accusations of embezzling government funds. Pitt's clever wife Charlotte agrees to pose as Narraway's sister and accompany him to Dublin to investigate, little knowing a trap is being sprung.