"Victorian London was notorious for its pickpockets. But wealthy victims--with their pride and reputations at stake--would never go to the police when preyed upon by con men and jewel thieves. What they needed was a society insider, a person of discretion with finely tuned powers of observation. Enter Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, the youngest child of Queen Victoria's close friends the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Fiercely intelligent, Mary is also bookish and quiet, which means she's overlooked and significantly underestimated. It's the perfect cover for a sleuth, a role she stumbles into at a house party hosted by her parents at their stately Scottish home, Drumlanrig Castle. It is at the party where Lady Mary meets Colonel Walter Trefusis, a distinguished and handsome war veteran. Walter, like Mary, lives a double life, and to solve the most audacious crimes, the two form an unlikely alliance..."--Page 4 of cover.