Fergus Hume, one of the most prolific authors of the 19th century serves up a spellbinding mystery quite equal to that of his most famous book “The Mystery of the Hansom Cab”. George, in order to get the consent of the frivolous and avaricious Mrs. Ward to marry her daughter Dorothy, searches for proof of his father's marriage which would then entitle him to his rightful place as heir to both the fortune and the title of Lord Derrington. Are the murders both past and present linked? There seem to be more questions than answers in this intricate plot so skillfully written and imaginative that the reader will be conjuring up various conclusions until the very end.