A young woman stands accused of poisoning her lover with arsenic-and the evidence against her is damning. She had motive, opportunity, and intimate knowledge of the poison that killed him. The jury fails to reach a verdict, but a retrial looms, and the Crown seems certain of a conviction. A nobleman-detective attends the trial on a whim and leaves utterly convinced of the accused's innocence-and rather more than convinced of her other merits. With only weeks before the retrial, he must unravel a web of literary circles, disputed wills, and a victim whose past conceals secrets far darker than anyone suspected. Racing against the calendar, he enlists a network of unconventional allies to find the real killer before an innocent woman goes to the gallows-while grappling with the uncomfortable realization that he has fallen hopelessly in love with a woman who may yet hang.
