Adored bestselling author Diana Gabaldon brings us the first book in a new trilogy featuring many of the characters from her wildly popular Outlander series.<br><br>In her <i>New York Times</i> bestselling Outlander novels, Diana Gabaldon introduced millions of readers to a dazzling world of history and adventure&#8212; a world of vibrant settings and utterly unforgettable characters. Now one of these characters, Major Lord John Grey, opens the door to his own part of this world&#8212;eighteenth-century London, a seething anthill of nobility and rabble peopled by soldiers and spies, whores and dukes. Great Britain is battling France for supremacy on three continents&#8212;and life is good for a soldier.<br><br>The year is 1757. On a clear morning in mid-June, Lord John Grey emerges from London&#8217;s Beefsteak Club, his mind in turmoil. A nobleman and a high-ranking officer in His Majesty&#8217;s Army, Grey has just witnessed something shocking. But his efforts to avoid a scandal that might destroy his family are interrupted by something still more urgent: the Crown appoints him to investigate the brutal murder of a comrade in arms, who may have been a traitor.<br><br>Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Major Grey finds himself ensnared in a web of treachery and betrayal that touches every stratum of English society&#8212;and threatens all he holds dear. From the bawdy houses of London&#8217;s night-world to the stately drawing rooms of the nobility, and from the blood of a murdered corpse to the thundering seas ruled by the majestic fleet of the East India Company, Lord John pursues the elusive trails of a vanishing footman and a woman in green velvet, who may hold the key to everything&#8212;or nothing.<br><br>The early days of the Seven Years War come brilliantly to life in this historical mystery by an author whose unique and compelling storytelling has engrossed millions of readers worldwide.