In 1920 London, a female coroner’s officer seeks answers when a boy’s body is found in the Thames . . .

A body has emerged from the dark depths of the river. It’s not an uncommon occurrence—but May Keaps takes every case seriously, especially when the deceased is a child. Was he simply playing too recklessly in the water, or is there more to the story?

May knows that when children go missing, the reason is often linked to money. But she is in danger of underestimating the corrupting influence of power. On streets where poverty and exploitation walk hand-in-hand, everyone has a price—and some are more valuable dead than alive. But who is pulling the strings? May must journey into the dark underbelly of London—a world of smuggling, prostitution, and murder—to find the answers . . .

“A wonderful heroine.” —Andrew Taylor, Diamond Dagger Award–winning author of The Ashes of London