Set in the mid-1800s, this mystery brings the passionate and exotic aristocrats of a tiny German kingdom into contact with Victorian England, in particular with William Monk, the darkly romantic hero of Anne Perry"s historical series. Countess Zorah Rostova first approaches Sir Oliver Rathbone with a story of murder, accusing the woman for whom an exiled prince has renounced his crown of killing him. Rathbone hires Monk to investigate, and both men are bewitched by the alluring women in the prince"s court-in-exile. In pursuit of the truth, Monk follows a trail from England to Venice and then to the kingdom of Felzburg, a journey that teaches him much about the political intrigue in central Europe during those turbulent times.