Thomas Pitt is summoned to the offices of Victor Narraway, head of the Imperial Secret Service. An ex-army officer and promising young diplomat has been shot and the prime suspect is the Egyptian mistress of a senior cabinet minister. But some things don't add up at the scene of the murder. When the Egyptian Ambassador puts in a call to Prime Minister Gladstone, it seems a major diplomatic row is brewing. Thomas is convinced Narraway knows more than he claims, and Pitt's wife Charlotte fears there could be involvement with the secret organisation that destroyed Pitt's Metropolitan Police career and nearly cost him his life. Can Pitt tread the tense diplomatic tightrope between protecting justice, the security of his country, and the safety of his family?