London, 1881: When a body is found in the Paddington canal basin, a woman with a hearing impairment claims that the remains are those of her missing husband, who disappeared three years ago. Unable to prove her case, she appeals to Frances Doughty, the lady detective, to investigate. In this, her fifth case, Frances soon learns that the missing man has secrets of his own, and, when another body is discovered and a witness is viciously attacked, it becomes clear that she must choose her allies wisely.

Brighton 1871: Spirit mediums are all the fashion, especially Miss Eustace, a psychic who claims to produce apparitions of the dead. Diminutive Mina Scarletti, a writer of horror stories, is sure that her widowed mother and friends are in the hands of cheats and extortionists so she enlists the help of an Anglo-Indian doctor, her charming but disreputable brother, and his voluptuous mistress to expose the frauds. But the scheming criminals have spread their nets wide and dramatic séances easily convince and captivate the bereaved and vulnerable. When Mina's determined campaign backfires she only succeeds in adding to Miss Eustace's fame. With chaos reigning in the Scarletti house, Mina and her associates must turn to desperate methods to outwit the illusionists and reveal the truth.

In 1817 a young woman of exotic appearance was found wandering near Bristol. She spoke in a language that no one could understand except, seemingly, a Portuguese sailor. He claimed that she was a Sumatran princess from the island of Javasu. Princess Caraboo, as she was known, became a national celebrity and lived in a grand style, entertaining many distinguished visitors. A few weeks later, however, she was exposed as Mary Baker, the daughter of a cobbler from Devonshire. Mary's description is one of several intriguing stories of nineteenth-century fraudsters brought to light in Linda Stratmann's entertaining look at some of history's greatest rogues. From bankers who forged share certificates, ruining hundreds of small investors, to 'Louis de Rougemont' whose tales of high adventure branded him The Greatest Liar on Earth, these riveting tales of true crime expose the seedy side of life in which corruption, avarice and scandal hold sway.

A dedicated doctor has set up a waiting mortuary on the borders of Kensal Green cemetery, where corpses are left to decompose before burial to reassure clients that no-one can be buried alive. He collapses and dies, apparently of natural causes, but on the same night one of his most reliable employees goes missing. Frances Doughty, a young sleuth with a reputation for solving knotty cases, is engaged to find the missing man, but nothing is as it seems. Suspicions of blackmail, fraud and murder lead to a gruesome exhumation in the catacombs, with shocking results