Mikaela takes on a case alone when Brodie is pulled into a new investigation for Sir Avery and the Agency.

Her inquiry services are requested by the wife of a prominent London surgeon after he has disappeared, while Brodie is sent to track down rumors of a planned attack in London by the anarchist known as the Black Hand.

It is a time of dangerous unrest across the whole of Europe, and they realize the two cases may be connected when the doctor is found murdered at a secret office in the East End where he performed certain procedures. It is also the place where the anarchist was followed, only to disappear. What was the reason for secrecy regarding that specific office? Why was the doctor murdered? What is the connection to the anarchists?

The doctor's notes, along with unearthed documents, provide more clues about ancient Egyptian surgical procedures. Fingerprints found at the scene of the murder match prints discovered after Mikaela meets with Sir James Redstone, a friend and one-time travel companion who has recently returned to London.

She is unwilling to believe that Redstone is part of the anarchist's plot. It makes no sense. Then, a coded message is intercepted and reveals that "everything is in place," along with the date an attack is to take place—in just four days.

But where? And what else is in that coded message?

Assistance with deciphering the last of the code comes from an unexpected source and reveals the target—Parliament, the heart of British law and authority. Hundreds of people will die.

With time running out, they race to stop the anarchists, expose the plot, and discover a deception they could never have imagined...