
All of London is shocked when a dead man is found sprawled on the Bedford Square doorstep of Gen. Ballantyne, who denies any knowledge of the shabbily dressed victim. But Superintendent Thomas Pitt finds a rare snuff box in the dead man's pocket and knows that it has recently graced the general's desk. He must tread lightly, however, lest his investigation trigger a tragedy of immense proportions, ensnaring honorable men like flies in a web of terror.