A debut historical mystery set in Victorian London's first - and now forgotten - Chinatown. As Pearl Fitzgerald fights for justice to find the killer of a murdered Chinese docker, she unexpectedly falls in love with the victim's sister. All the while, the murderer is preparing to strike again...

Pearl Fitzgerald arrives in Limehouse - London's very first Chinatown - to settle her late father's affairs and claim her inheritance. But when she unwittingly finds herself at the scene of a murder, her plans are thrown off course. Even more so by the alluring Mei, sister to the dead man. Utterly infatuated, Pearl promises Mei that she will bring her brother's killer to justice, and she dives into the East End's criminal underworld.

But in the city of smoke and silk, where cultures clash and the hangman's noose is always waiting, the truth comes at a cost. With each step of the investigation Pearl risks her livelihood, her relationship with Mei, and her life. Because the killer will strike again, and they're already hunting for the next victim . . .

Opium smuggling, murder and unexpected romance meet in this historical thriller for fans of Leonora Nattrass, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Sarah Waters.