An epic and playful mystery of passion, fear, scandal and murder, from one of history's master storytellers.

An epic and playful mystery of passion, fear, scandal and murder, from one of history's master storytellers.

1901. Night draws in.

With the stealth of a spy vessel, the royal ship Aziziye approaches the famous vistas of Mingheria, the twenty-ninth state of the ailing Ottoman Empire. The ship carries Princess Pakize, the daughter of a deposed sultan, her doctor husband, and the Royal Chemist, Bonkowski Pasha. Not all of them will survive the weeks ahead. There are rumours of plague - rumours some in power will try to suppress.

But plague is not the only killer. Mingheria is on the cusp of catastrophe, and the future of a fragile empire is at stake.