<p>Thomas Pitt, mainstay of Her Majesty&rsquo;s Special Branch, is summoned to Connaught Square mansion, where the body of a junior diplomat lies huddled in a wheelbarrow. Nearby stands the tenant of the house, the beautiful, notorious Egyptian woman Ayesha Zakhari, who falls under the shadow of suspicion. Pitt&rsquo;s orders are to protect&mdash;at all costs&mdash;the good name of the third person in the garden: senior cabinet minister Saville Ryerson. The distinguished public servant, whispered to be Ayesha&rsquo;s lover, insists that she is as innocent as Pitt himself. Pitt&rsquo;s journey to uncover the truth takes him from Egyptian cotton fields to the insidious London slum called Seven Dials&mdash;and ultimately to a packed London courtroom in which shocking secrets will at last be revealed.</p>