JUNE 1814. As London celebrates the defeat of Napoleon, the festive atmosphere is marred by the brutal murder of a disgraced British nobleman long thought dead. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, feels a kinship with the deceased man and is drawn into the investigation by his valet, an old friend of the victim.

Eighteen years earlier, Nicholas Hayes, the third son of the late Earl of Seaforth, was accused of killing a beautiful young French emigre and then transported to Botany Bay for life. Even before his conviction, Hayes had been disowned by his father, and few in London were surprised when they heard he died a convict in New South Wales. But those reports were obviously wrong. Recently Hayes returned to London with a mysterious young boy in tow—a child who vanishes shortly after Nicholas's body is discovered.

Sebastian begins to piece together the shattered life of the late Earl's ill-fated youngest son. Why did Nicholas risk his life and freedom by returning to England? And why did he bring the now-missing young boy with him? Several nervous Londoners had reason to fear that Nicholas Hayes had returned to kill them. One of them might have decided to kill him first.