When a former West Indies planter is found dead and clad in a mask used to punish slaves out on the street, a black boy is promptly arrested. But Harriet Westerman and Mr Crowther with promptings from servant and former slave William Geddings (who has secrets of his own) think there is more to the death than meets the eye. Meanwhile Francis Glass, another freed slave and a printmaker, is shocked when the woman he loves is killed – and when he realises that there are deep secrets threatening to be revealed that powerful slave traders want to keep secret.

As you can tell from the summary, there is a lot going on in this book! Various mysteries unwind around each other, touching each other at the edges, the complex characters presented revealing secrets and connections as we follow on through. Though I was a little thrown at the start of the book to find that it is in the middle of a series, after a little perseverance I found myself engrossed.