In the second volume of Everett-Green's trilogy, the shadows of past deception close around Torwood as he navigates a thickening web of family secrets and forbidden attachments. A mysterious tradesman named Alfred Belassis arrives, bearing an unsettling resemblance to the troublesome Lewis Belassis, and Tor begins to suspect that the truth of his own lineage may be far stranger than he imagined. As his feelings for the elusive Maud deepen, he must confront the impossible choice between honoring old loyalties and claiming the truth that could dismantle his entire world. Miss Marjory, with her formidable social command, maneuvers deftly among the guests at her dinner table, yet even she cannot shield Tor from the machinations of those who would see his birthright questioned. The stakes are nothing less than his identity itself: Who is Torwood, truly, and what will he sacrifice to remain worthy of the trust his name once promised? This is Victorian sensation fiction at its most elegant, where every whispered conversation behind fans carries the weight of ruined reputations and hidden fortunes.
