London, 1887. Summoned to the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only haven for intrepid women, the lepidopterist and adventuress Veronica Speedwell is approached by a woman calling herself Lady Sundridge, who begs her to prove the innocence of society art patron Miles Ramsforth. Ramsforth stands condemned for the brutal murder of his mistress, the artist Artemisia, and is due to hang within the week. Lady Sundridge is not who she claims to be, and discovering her real identity is only the first of the secrets Veronica must prise open.
With her colleague Revelstoke "Stoker" Templeton-Vane, an aristocratic natural historian with a scarred past of his own, Veronica works against the clock through a bohemian artists' colony, opium dens, the headquarters of Scotland Yard, royal palaces and the Elysian Grotto — a secretive cave on the Ramsforth estate. Each answer brings them nearer to scandals at the very top of Victorian society, and nearer to danger themselves.
The second Veronica Speedwell mystery pairs a fair-play investigation with the spirited, sexually charged banter that defines Veronica and Stoker's partnership. Deanna Raybourn keeps the tone playful rather than grim even as the subject matter darkens, threading royal intrigue and Veronica's own complicated relationship to the crown through a period puzzle rich in Victorian detail.