London, 1929. Joseph Waite is a man who knows what he wants. With his Havana cigars and Savile Row suits, he is one of Britain's wealthiest men. And the last thing he needs is a scandal. When his unmarried daughter runs away from home, he is determined to keep the case away from the police and the newspapers. So he turns to a woman renowned for her discretion and investigative powers - the extraordinary Maisie Dobbs.
Maisie soon discovers that there are many reasons why Charlotte Waite might have left home and instinctively feels the women is in safe hands. Yet the investigator suddenly finds herself confronting a murder scene.