London, 1785. When the body of a former West Indies planter is found staked out by St Paul's Cathedral, suspicion falls at once on a runaway slave. But the answer is not that simple. The planter's death brings tragedy for Francis Glass, a freed slave working as a bookseller, and a painful reminder of the past for William Geddings, senior footman in the household of unconventional widow Harriet Westerman.

Harriet is reluctant to confront the powerful world of the slave trade but she and her friend, anatomist Gabriel Crowther, must face its shameful truths - and the fact that much of Britain's wealth is built on wilful destruction of human life. The secrets of London's slave owners reveal a network of alliances across the capital. And while some people will risk everything to preserve their reputation, some acts can never be forgiven.

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