When newspaper magnate Richard Jewell is found dead at his country estate clutching a shotgun few see his demise as cause for sorrow. But Doctor Quirke and Inspector Hackett realise that “Diamond Dick” has in fact been murdered. Jewell had many enemies and suspicion soon falls on one of his biggest rivals. But as Quirke and his assistant Sinclair get to know Jewell's enigmatic wife Francoise d'Aubigny and his fragile sister Dannie it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. As Quirke's investigations return him to the notorious orphanage of St Christopher's events begin to take a much darker turn. But what have the shadowy benefactors of St Christopher's to do with it all?
