On the run, a world away from all she's ever known. London, 1861. Samantha Kingston has lived under the control of her overbearing uncle since the death of her parents six years ago. Trapped by the conventions of her gender and social class, she is desperate to find a way out. But when her aunt and uncle are murdered, the freedom she sought seems even further out of reach. A suspect in the crime, she finds herself on the run, unsure whom to trust, lost in the underworld she had only ever read about in the pages of a Dickens novel. V. T. Wyatt has defied his aristocratic upbringing to pursue a life as a private investigator. After an unusual first meeting, he hires Samantha to help him solve a rash of burglaries. Soon, a connection between the burglaries and the murders emerges, drawing Samantha and Wyatt even closer together as they race to solve both mysteries and clear her name.