Eveline Duchen is a thief and con-artist, surviving day by day on the
streets of London, where the glittering spires of progress rise on the
straining backs of the poor and disenfranchised. Where the Folk, the
otherworldly children of fairy tales and legends, have all but withdrawn
from the smoke of the furnaces and the clamour of iron. Caught in an act
of deception by the implacable Mr Holmforth, Evvie is offered a stark
choice: transportation to the colonies, or an education - and utter
commitment to Her Majesty's Service - at Miss Cairngrim's harsh school
for female spies. But on the decadent streets of Shanghai, where the
corruption of the Empire is laid bare, Holmforth is about to make a
devil's bargain, and Eveline's choices could change the future of two
worlds...