Benjamin Weaver, the quick-witted pugilist turned private investigator,
who was first introduced in the Edgar Award-winning novel, THE
CONSPIRACY OF PAPER, returns. While inquiring into some threatening
notes sent to a Church of England priest, Weaver is arrested for the
murder of a dockworker. After his conviction, engineered by a crooked
judge who has blatantly instructed the jury to disregard the truth,
Weaver escapes from prison, intent upon proving his innocence.
Meanwhile, Great Britain is reeling from a financial scandal that has
sent the economy into a downward spiral; it is also preparing for a
general parliamentary election - an event that happens only every seven
years. Not generally someone to get caught up in politics, Benjamin
Weaver finds himself caught in the crossfire of election trickery as he
attempts to clear his name. The question remains, however: What good is
proving his innocence, again, when having done so once only resulted in
conviction? Instead, he is determined to work against his enemies and
learn their secrets to try to discover why he has been singled out for
this prosecution. The most likely engineer of his ruin is Dennis
Dogmill, a tobacco importer and the election agent of the Whig candidate
for the Westminster Parliamentary seat. Dogmill's opponent, and Weaver's
unlikely ally, is Griffin Melbury, the Tory candidate and the husband of
his cousin's widow, Miriam, whom Weaver once sought to marry. To
discover the truth about the plot against him, Weaver disguises himself
as a newly returned West Indian plantation owner. He must integrate
himself with London society and political manipulators in order to learn
the truth.
