Inspector Thomas Pitt is shocked. The body of a boy, clearly from the upper classes, has been found in the filthy sewers of Bluegate Fields, one of London s most dangerous slums. What s more, the unfortunate boy had been violated before he was murdered. So vile a case is hardly a topic for drawing-room conversation. But when the Waybournes, the boy s family, refuse to answer the police s questions, Inspector Pitt begins to wonder what secrets they are trying to hide. Pitt s wife and helpmeet, Charlotte, is determined to find out even if it means tearing down the facades of an oh-so-proper family.