A riveting new Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novel, in which Anne Perry again proves her mastery of the people, the mores, and the politics of the Victorian era she has made her own.

A general election is approaching and Thomas is called to monitor the bitter struggle for one crucial London seat.

The Tory candidate is Charles Voisey, ruthless Number One of the Inner Circle and old enemy of Pitt.

His Liberal opponent is Aubrey Serracold, whose wife, Rose, is passionately committed to a socialist agenda and a liability to Serracold as she is immersed in spiritualism.

Rose is one of the three participants in a late-night seance held by clairvoyant Maude Lamont, which becomes notorious when Madame Lamont's brutally murdered body is found the next morning.

To Pitt's heavy burdens is now added the investigation of this baffling crime.