Dr. James Grimshaw, a widower blamed for the death of his wife, sees only what he must of the world around him. He struggles with each day, lost inside London's anonymous crush. His wife's sister, Lady Hannah, moves through London with eyes wide open. Her clever, unforgiving, honest sketches of her enemies and allies, drawn from inside a gilded cage, reveal the crisp hypocrisy of the Victorian Age. Both are unbalanced and craving a life beyond their sad sameness when they meet again unexpectedly. When Hannah's brother-in-law, Simon Webster, reveals that Hannah murdered her husband and asks James to discover how, his rumors and accusations draw James in. No one, for or against Hannah, can assure James of the truth, and he's left to his own wits to discover her secrets. Hannah invites his scrutiny, but their relationship quickly creates more questions than answers. When Simon shows himself to be ruthless in proving Hannah's guilt, James discovers too late that he may be at the mercy of a man more dangerous than the woman he pursues. ah's subsequent entanglement is enough to shock the polite world, their disregard for London's social commandments is a greater woe with swift punishment. Their greatest scandal of all may not be their pursuit of those who've wronged them, but a longing between them that defies corseted convention, until it becomes an unspeakable anguish. All the while, Simon looms at their backs, determined that Hannah face justice.