When an obscure moneylender named William Weems is murdered in the
humble Clerkenwell district, there are no mourners--and there is more
than a little discreet rejoicing among those whose meager earnings he so
mercilessly devoured. Yet when Inspector Pitt finds in the murdered
man's office a list containing the names of some of London's most
distinguished gentlemen, he begins to realize the magnitude of his duty.
William Weems, it transpires, was no common usurer but a vicious
blackmailer. Fortunately, Pitt's clever, well-born wife, Charlotte, has
entrée to London's best society. Her insights prove to be invaluable to
Pitt's investigation as she observes, at glittering balls and over
gossipy tea tables, a world of passion, power, and greed that the police
are seldom permitted to see.