A coded message. A secret past. A desperate man.
With two weeks in a new home and a successful investigation behind them, Irene Holmes and Joe Watson are beginning to settle into a comfortable routine. That peace is short-lived when Detective Eddy Lestrade arrives with a most unusual problem: a circular message composed of seemingly meaningless symbols and letters.
Intrigued by the challenge, Irene throws herself into deciphering the cryptic puzzle. Yet the deeper she and Joe dig, the more they uncover about a young woman whose past is far darker than anyone imagined.
What begins as an intellectual exercise soon becomes something far more dangerous. Hidden secrets, carefully buried scandals, and a determined adversary threaten to derail the investigation at every turn.
As the pieces of the cipher begin to fall into place, Irene and Joe must uncover the truth before a decades-old deception turns deadly.