When newlyweds Sir James and Lady Cecilia Branstoke visit a widow to console her on the death of her husband, they discover some things don’t add up about the death of the young Lord. Worse, a man who won’t state his purpose, but is obviously military, wants a carte blanche to search the dead man’s library.
What begins as sympathy and concern for a troubled neighbor escalates into a mystery with reverberations at the highest level of government.
Napoleon has escaped from Elba and someone has stolen a subsidy shipment meant for England’s allies in their renewed war against Napoleon. The shipment, a valuable mix of gold and guns, soon pits thief against thief and ally against ally with the Branstokes in the middle.
Sir James and Lady Cecilia Branstoke dodge knives, fires, and pistols as they search for the missing baronet and the stolen subsidies.
Maybe they should have traveled to the highlands for their honeymoon, as they’d told their friends had been their intention.