Edinburgh
June 1746
In the summer of 1746, a caravan of wandering Gypsies arrive in Edinburgh bringing with them Libby Oliver, a mysterious young woman with a troubled history. Caught in a struggle between a mysterious figure from her past, and forced to do the evil bidding of a man she had thought she could trust when he first offered her shelter, she is desperate to escape from all those who wish to control her for their own nefarious ends.
When the chance for love, happiness and a future of her own choosing presents itself, will she have the courage to seize the moment, or will she remain as no more than the beautiful prize in a struggle between those she has come to despise?
Following a brutal murder in a dank courtyard, the finger of suspicion is pointed firmly in her direction. Now more desperate than ever to escape injustice, she turns to the one man she believes she can trust:
Robert Young of Newbiggin
Unfortunately he is bedridden with a lung disease and already stymied in another investigation he had been working on, involving shadowy figures from within the ranks of Edinburgh's council and powerful guilds. It will fall to his wife, Euphemia, to take on the role as chief investigator to search for the truth on the filth choked streets of old Edinburgh, and see that the guilty are brought to justice, and that Libby Oliver can finally have the happiness so long denied her.