A murder of an accounting clerk by the docks in London occurred while Earl Wrexford and Lady Charlotte were dancing the night away. Her foster son, Hawk, informs her that it had something to do with argentum, which is Latin for silver.
Wrexford is able to provide further details, which he had received from his friend, Griffin, who is a Bow Street detective. Charlotte mentions the incident from the previous evening when she had inadvertently seen her friend, Cordelia, helping her brother clean up a wound to his hand. At this point neither feels inclined to be involved in investigating the murder.
Some time later, Lady Cordelia has disappeared. Kit Sheffield is quite upset about it. Charlotte decides to do some investigation in her persona as Magpie. This disguise allows her to meet with some of the lower levels of society. Unbeknownst to her, her charges, Raven and Hawk, have begun their own investigation in concert with Sheffield. The three of them are caught at it by Wrexford. However, what they do learn is that money is involved.
The investigation leads them out into the country to a cottage near Wrexford’s estate. However, when they approach the cottage, they find it empty. However, later in the day, Lady Cordelia walks in on their afternoon meeting. She quite surprises the group and then presents them with a conundrum that she and her brother are dealing with involving the East India Company.
Author Andrea Penrose isn’t finished with trouble for the intrepid detectives at this point. Enter a professor with an ingenious calculating machine, and envoys from the Chinese Empire into the mix and Penrose has created an unusual mystery. It will take all of the team; adults and children to solve the problems in front of them. A very fast paced, good read.
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