In England of 1811 Queen Charlotte may be Regent, but the fate of women-particularly Fallen women-can be particularly harsh. To avoid the fate of others of her kind, Sarah Tolerance works as an Agent of Inquiry, using her wits and her skill with a short sword to find lost trinkets and wastrel husbands. But sometimes her cases are not so simple.

When a fallen woman's life savings is stolen, Miss Tolerance is asked to find the culprit. But what begins as a simple case of swindled funds soon turns to murder. As the investigation twists, and more bodies are discovered, Miss Tolerance and her friend and erstwhile suitor, the magistrate Sir Walter Mandif, find themselves untangling a web of passion, deception, and madness...