Her second day doing doctoral research in the basement archives of Siddley Hall, England's grandest Tudor home, American Antonia Townley stumbles upon the hall's curator with a knife plunged into his chest. Police suspect Antonia of being the killer because of two insignificant—to her—reasons: The first is the pesky matter of her fingerprints on the murder weapon. The second is the unfortunate email she had sent to her sister saying she would kill for the curator's job.
Handsome bachelor Frederick Percy, Lord Rockford of Siddley Hall, learns that the curator was on the trail of the Percy family monstrance, the most valuable monstrance in England before Henry VIII's dissolution. Frederick becomes convinced that the curator's death is tied to the priceless artifact, and he must find it before the killer does to free Antonia from suspicion of murder. More importantly, Frederick vows to protect the beautiful scholar against the menacing forces after her.
But as Frederick and Antonia crisscross England seeking information on the Percy Monstrance, it becomes clear that someone is stalking her every move. Could Frederick, the man Antonia has fallen in love with, be the very person who is out to destroy her?
