1895 Newport, Rhode Island. The height of the Gilded Age. Fortunes are made and lost overnight. In boardrooms and ballrooms, competition for superiority is ruthless and so are the players. Deanna Randolph is looking forward to her first Newport season, beginning with a ball to introduce Lord David Manchester, Barbadian sugar owner, and his sister to Newport society. Joe Ballard is looking forward to the season but for different reasons. It will give him an opportunity to find and expose the person who is siphoning funds from the Randolph sugar refinery. He just hopes it isn't one of the Randolphs. The Manchesters are an immediate hit and so is Lord David's manservant, Swan, a Barbadian native who performs magic, reads fortunes and predicts the future. It's all in good fun until the body of a young maid is found on the nearby cliffs, her neck broken, and Joe kneeling over the body. Deanna's maid, Elspeth was friends with the girl, Daisy, who was engaged to her brother Owen. She begs Deanna to help her find who murdered the girl. When Joe learns that Deanna is asking questions, he tells her to leave off. He's doing his own investigation. But Deanna has no intention of listening to him, after all they were almost engaged before Joe bolted and shocked all of society by staying in Newport for the winter to work on his inventions. But she has no choice. Joe can go places she and Elspeth can't. Against a backdrop of balls, fetes, tennis and seances, Joe, Deanna, and Elspeth embark on an investigation to find the murderer, but uncover a much deeper scheme, one that threatens to ruin several of the most prestigious families in Newport, including Joe's and Deanna's.
1895 Newport, Rhode Island. The height of the Gilded Age. Fortunes are made and lost overnight. In boardrooms and ballrooms, competition for superiority is ruthless and so are the…
