In this second prequel to the Jewish Regency Mystery Series, Miss Rebecca Lyon is invited to visit her dear friend Miss Harriet Franks, whose family has left the East End for fashionable Mayfair. But distressing events are about to occur. A suspicious coded message is found in the Mayfair tailoring establishment of Harriet’s father, and Mr. Franks is accused of spying for Napoleon.
As Mr. Franks languishes in prison, his distraught wife and daughter seek out Mr. Ezra Melamed, the wealthy widower-turned-sleuth. To his dismay, the one person who could shed light on the matter seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. With only a coded message, a mysterious ruby ring, and a cryptic clue from a Chassidic Rebbe, will Mr. Melamed be able to save Mr. Franks from the hangman’s noose?