Adam Hardesty has a serious problem: a diary containing his family's darkest secrets has been stolen and, in the course of investigating his would-be blackmailer, he discovers the dead body of a prominent psychic.

His only lead is a list of the psychic's last visitors. The most likely suspect is a young woman named Mrs. Caroline Fordyce, whom he confronts in her parlour only to discover an inconvenient attraction to this beautiful young widow. But Caroline has secrets of her own and will do anything to avoid another scandal, even if it means journeying deeper in the the shadowy world of psychics, mediums and con artists, to help the enigmatic Mr Hardesty catch a killer.