london 1812 when the controversial reformminded bishop of london is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before sebastian st cyr viscount devlin is asked by the archbishop of canterbury to help with the investigation to sebastians consternation the last person to see the bishop alive was miss hero jarvis a woman whose already strained relationship with st cyr has been complicated by a brief unexpectedly passionate encounter as his search for the killer leads him from the back allies of smithfield to the power corridors of whitehall sebastian amasses a list of suspects that range from some of the prince regents closest cronies to william franklin embittered son of famous american patriot ben franklin sebastian must also confront the wellguarded secrets of his own familys pastand a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to question whoand whathe really is