Lord Ashworth is found brutally murdered only months after Sebastian failed to prove his involvement in crimes against London children. Ashworth's estranged wife Stephanie, Sebastian's young niece, has just survived the birth of twins and immediately becomes the most convenient suspect.
Sebastian examines the dead man's dissolute life, his violent associates and the women he exploited. A bloody handprint and other deliberately suggestive evidence point toward a female killer, but the truth depends on secrets Ashworth believed his rank would keep beyond the reach of justice.