It is set in Edwardian London where the world, like main character Leonard Morley's life, is changing.

The story starts when Leonard Morley receives a threatening note.

Over time more of these notes turn up, and when the fourth has found its way to Morley, he resolves to tell his manager, William Whiteley.

[1] In a positive review for The Daily Telegraph, Kirsty Milne said, "Monica Dickens evokes the age of corsets and chloroform without slipping too far into the nostalgia trap.

Her tendency to jump between a large cast of characters sometimes leaves the novel a little unfocused, but her brisk energy supplies a narrative drive of its own.