Richard Hughes - freedman, swordsman, and English to boot - came to Venice seeking a simple life. After he and his friend Phillip de Chambray - a genius noblewoman, disguising herself - were embroiled in an attempt to sabotage the opera during Carnevale, and destabilise Venice, they were immediately plunged into yet another intrigue.

The French Ambassador to Venice has been murdered - poisoned - and the suspect may lurk within the Embassy itself.

Charged with the investigation, Richard follows threads that immediately become tangled as the layers of conspiracy become apparent. Notes are left around the city alleging traitors among Venice's elite, and sabotage threatens the security of the city itself.

Richard and Phillip are tested to their limits and drawn through the lowest strata and the highest echelons of Venetian society to solve the case.

Rich with authentic detail, this is the story of a complex world not so different from our own, and Christian Cameron, the modern master of historical fiction, brings real history to life in a way no other author can.