Argyll, Scotland. July 1832. After a trying few months in Edinburgh, Kiera and her husband, Sebastian Gage, escape to the Highlands to attend a friend's wedding ceremony at the estate of a relative, the Marquess of Barbreck. But in this 10th outing (after A Wicked Conceit), Kiera peruses Barbreck's art collection, and notices that one of his priceless paintings seems to be a forgery. After a maid from a neighboring estate is found murdered where the painting hangs, Kiera and Gage realize that they are up against a mastermind.