It is the winter of 1893, and all over London the first of the snow is falling. It is falling as Esther Tull climbs onto a ledge above Half Moon Street, as she steadies herself and closes her eyes. It is falling as Gideon Bliss seeks shelter in a Soho church. Lying before the altar he finds Angie Tatton. She is at death's door, and barely able to speak. What little she does say is mysterious and troubling, and he wakes in the morning to find her gone. The snow is falling, too, as Octavia Hillingdon arrives at a gala ball in honour of the philanthropist Lord Strythe. She longs to write about matters of importance, but for now she must content herself with the society pages of the Mayfair Gazette. When Lord Strythe vanishes, Octavia is compelled to discover more. Gideon Bliss, meanwhile, finds himself pressed into the service of Inspector Cutter of Scotland Yard. Soon, they will all be drawn into the same mystery. Only Angie Tatton can lead them to the truth, and there are those in the shadows who do not want her found. Only she knows the dark secrets that Lord Strythe has kept, and what lies hidden at the house on Vesper Sands.