A severed foot. Fingerprints left on a wine glass. A secret cipher code. The scent of orange and cinnamon left behind by the murderer.

Mikaela Forsythe, adventuress, author, and now private investigator, is back. She is pulled into a deadly case that may just see her friend, actress Theodora Templeton, sent to prison for murder when a severed foot is found in her bed, and a high-ranking official has gone missing.

Is it a crime of passion or something far more sinister?

Only one person can assist: former police inspector Angus Brodie, the irascible Scot who challenges her at every turn. But Brodie is reluctant to take the case of a woman who communicates with the dead and keeps a four-foot iguana as a pet—until there is another murder and then another.

As the body count rises, Mikaela and Brodie are forced to undertake a dangerous scheme to expose the murderer. But secrets lie in wait, and desperate people will take desperate measures to protect those secrets.

All the while, Mikaela's great aunt has decided to go on safari, the Mudger and Rupert are caught up in the case, and a brilliant young man—Bloody hell! Another Scot!—has joined the team. Then there is that undeniable attraction to deal with that lies simmering just beneath the surface for two people who could not be more different...

What is an independent lady to do?