From bestselling author Charles Finch comes the second in a prequel trilogy to his lauded series in which the theft of an antique painting sends Charles Lenox on a hunt for a criminal mastermind.

London, 1853. The Duke of Dorset, one of England's most famous noblemen, calls upon young Charles Lenox for help. A minor painting has been stolen from his private study. It's not particularly valuable in itself, but it's a peculiar thing to steal, leaving Lenox uneasy. After a vicious attack upon the Duke confirms the young investigator's anxieties, he must unravel the mystery of this painting, reaching back through the centuries to reveal one of the country's best-kept secrets—and discovering, in the process, a small, forgettable object of almost infinite value.