January 1889. Newly accepted into the Curiosity Club—a society of brilliant, intrepid women—Veronica Speedwell is glad to put her abilities to good use as she assembles a memorial for mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene. But Veronica finds evidence that Alice's death was no accident, it was murder, which she reports to the matron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald. With Europe on the verge of war, however, Gisela's chancellor Count von Rechstein wants to downplay incident. Then the princess disappears—and Von Rechstein begs Veronica, her near double, to step in as her and secure a peace treaty.

"Fans of feisty Victorian heroines will hope Veronica has a long career."—Publishers Weekly