Against a backdrop of murder and intrigue at the dissolute court of
King Charles II, can Susannah and Raphael save their friend and find
each other along the way?
After a three-year absence mired in anxiety and trapped by her lack of
speech, portrait miniaturist Susannah Gresham gathers her courage and
returns to Whitehall Palace and her godfather, the king. Encountering
Florentine jeweller Raphael Rossi, who appears to her just another court
libertine, she is surprised when he finds his way unbidden into her
thoughts.
With help from the Duchess of Richmond, Raphael has set out to win her
heart. When Susannah's closest friend Sam Carter is sentenced to death
for a murder he did not commit, Susannah and Raphael must race against
time to uncover the real killer.
But nothing is as it seems, for Sam has dangerous enemies who are
determined to see him die... and will go to any lengths to achieve their
goal.