When Shackleford and Daughters Detective Agency takes on its first real case — the theft of an emerald necklace from a wealthy Torquay widow, Arabella Shackleford expects nothing more complicated than a drawing room mystery. She is, in every possible sense, about to get more than she bargained for.

Within days, what begins as a series of jewellery thefts from four prominent widows unravels into something far darker... missing servants, a murdered woman, and the shadowy reappearance of a fugitive from their most dangerous previous case. Worse still, the threads all seem to lead back to a nameless, faceless figure known only as Jacob.

Unexpectedly, the newly appointed Chief Inspector Benedict Hartley becomes an ally the Shacklefords desperately need, Tall, handsome and maddeningly principled, Arabella quickly realises her feelings towards him are becoming something rather more complicated than professional admiration. As the investigation deepens and the danger escalates, the connection between them becomes something neither of them can easily dismiss.