London, 1871
Coventry Adams, former harlot and pickpocket, has risen in the world to the precarious, perilous occupation of thief-taker. She turns her skills at disguise, persuasion, and sleight-of-hand to the risky work of tracking wanted fugitives for the Metropolitan Police. Her only allies are her keen wits, her quick fingers, and young Irish detective Finn Farrell.
All is going well until Finn and Coventry stumble on the aftermath of a cunning bank robbery. Someone has used the brand-new London sewers to tunnel into a vault and make off with treasure beyond reckoning. One of the stolen items is a medal belonging to a veteran of the Crimean War, and the outraged old soldier commissions Coventry to retrieve it.
The trail leads through the wet, foggy streets and docks of London. Coventry must evade explosive traps, violent criminals, and villains from her own past. Honest work, Coventry learns, can be even harder and more dangerous than crime. In the end, she may have to choose between friendship and freedom, loyalty and reward.
