London, the summer of 1705: a season of revolutionary fervour, scientific discovery and vicious murders. The British government is in disarray, unable to stem the flood of secrets to Paris; betrayals that doom her war efforts to failure. In rural Kensington a group of French emigrés are pursuing a scientific dream, the discovery of a planet they call Selene. Under suspicion as spies, the French group may also be harbouring a killer . . .
Jonathan Absey is a Home Office clerk whose official task is to smash the French spy ring. Yet he is also driven by a private agenda: to unmask the killer of his daughter, the murderer's first victim.
Debauchery, murder and science combine in this exhilarating mystery, heralding the arrival of a major new writing talent.