Frances Wynn, Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. After an obligatory year spent mourning, she rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, for her first London season. Frances begins her new life, but the ghosts of her old one make an unwelcome appearance. The police receive an anonymous letter implicating Frances in her husband's death. She assures them of her innocence, without revealing the scandalous circumstances of Reggie's demise. Frances learns of mysterious burglaries plaguing London's elite and rallies her wits, a circle of gossips, and her ever-chivalrous neighbour, Mr. Hazelton, to uncover the truth. A killer is in their midst, and Frances must unmask the villain before Lily's season - and their lives - come to a most unseemly end.