The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher disembarks the Orient at Victoria Dock, returning to Melbourne after years abroad. Almost as soon as she checks into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned husbands, cocaine smuggling rings and illegal abortionists – not to mention erotic encounters with the handsome Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse. Her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish Bath Palace off Little Lonsdale Street.

Phryne investigates the death of a young female worker in a factory ‘accident’ and soon learns that the woman’s death might not be the misadventure the police think it is. Faced with a wall of secrecy and lies, Phryne sends her trusty maid, Dot, undercover into the factory to investigate. When a second suspicious death occurs, Phryne fights desperately to save one of her closest friends from the gallows.

The carnival is in town. Innocent fun turns to horror when one of the sideshow acts is murdered. Phryne poses as the magician’s assistant, Fern, to investigate. The heady atmosphere of the carnival takes Phryne on a bittersweet trip down memory lane – to the days when she and her sister, Janey, would sneak into the big top, until one night Janey disappeared. Her pain is reignited when she discovers that Murdoch Foyle – the man accused of murdering her sister – was the mastermind behind an elaborate prison escape plan. Any chance of discovering the truth about her sister’s fate is dashed though, when she learns that Foyle has died and been cremated.

Phryne’s cousins and Aunt Prudence’s entire household come under suspicion when a young girl is found drowned in her aunt’s fountain on the eve of a lavish fancy dress party. Phryne and her aunt work together to investigate – until Phryne begins to doubt her own detecting skills. Was Murdoch Foyle really the man responsible for her sister’s death or was it someone much closer to Phryne – someone who was also there the day Janey disappeared from the circus all those years ago? When Foyle finally shows his hand, Phryne recovers her confidence – only to have it replaced by terror when she fears Foyle now has Jane in his sights.

Murdoch Foyle is at large and has been connected with the mysterious death of Albert Monkton, antique dealer. In investigating the murder, Phryne discovers Murdoch Foyle’s involvement in a bizarre reincarnation cult, inspired by Ancient Egypt. Phryne’s hunt for the madman leads her on a disturbing trail of death and despair before she realises her own significance in Foyle’s grand plan. Can she overcome her nemesis and finally solve the mystery regarding the fate of her sister, Janey, or will her own death be the price she has to pay to discover the truth.