The author of No Comfort for the Lost returns with a new mystery of Old San Francisco. British-born nurse Celia Davies runs a free medical clinic to assist the poor women of San Francisco. She has earned the trust and friendship of many of the city's downtrodden, including a young orphan named Owen. Owen works for a real estate company and discovered a dead body in the office's basement. Celia turns to Detective Nick Greaves for help, only to learn that one of the main suspects-the husband of Celia's dearest friend-is an old enemy of Nick's. Now, Celia and Nick must put aside their personal feelings about the case-and each other-if they're going to bring a killer to justice.