It's the start of the Hollywood on Hudson film festival, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. There's a red carpet premiere every night; the most exclusive restaurants are filled with wealthy producers and pre-eminent directors ...
In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.