Charlotte Holmes, a brilliant polymath, and her companion Dr Watan, an Indian doctor, continue their adventures as they deal with a supernatural event and her pregnancy. Charlotte decides to undertake her confinement at Redoubt, her matrimonial home, but the pregnancy becomes dangerous for both mother and child when she is haunted by the ghost of her dead child. Maldehyde compels Branwell to apprehend the traitor Charles de Beque and he undertakes the quest with the aid of his guide Durga. Their perilous search leads them to a Chinese brothel, the murderous Wu Tu clan and a showdown with Charles de Beque over a gorge. Matters come to ahead when her husband and lover fight to be recognised as the father and they try to resolve the fallout from the Christmas Coup. A haunting defies rational explanation as Charlotte struggles with a difficult pregnancy whilst her brother pursues her treacherous husband & the paternity of the child proves problematic.