<p><strong style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">The past rears its gorgeous head ...&nbsp;</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">Deeply distressed to discover her husband lied about his whereabouts the day before, Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, emerges from a wretched night's sleep to discover him embracing the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">His former mistress!</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">It is shocking, yes, but not so very alarming, for Penelope Taylor is actually there to see Bea. Her dearest friend has been brutally slain, and as Millicent Lloyd happened to be sleeping in the courtesan's bed at the time, Mrs. Taylor is the only suspect. The magistrate is impatient to cart her off to Newgate and refuses to acknowledge the truth that is glaringly obvious to her:&nbsp;</span><em style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">She</em><span style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">&nbsp;was the intended victim.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">Poor Millie, murdered in her stead!</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">Persuaded by the evidence, Bea accepts the assignment, launching an investigation to prove the innocence of her husband's former lover, whose fond recollections of her liaison with the duke confirm she is anything but innocent. Following the clues-and the trail of broken hearts discarded by Mrs. Taylor-</span><strong style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">Bea realizes she is looking for a villain more diabolical than any she has ever known.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(15, 17, 17, 1)">And this one will not hesitate to strike again.</strong></p>