Two missing bodies and two separate investigations take Carpenter and Quincannon from the heights above San Francisco Bay to the depths of Chinatown's opium dens.

When one of her investigative operatives is arrested for major credit card fraud, Sharon McCone's efforts to prove the woman's innocence are complicated by evidence that supports her guilt and points to a larger conspiracy.

Hired by a wealthy banker to nab an extortionist who has threatened to reveal personal secrets unless he receives more money, John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter find the case turning deadly when a courier is found dead in a locked room.

"In 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light. The seemingly impossible disappearance of her body creates an even more serious problem for the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services. Sabina hadn't wanted to take the assignment, but her partner...