England, 1850: As she makes her way through London's crowded streets, Rose Windermere is nearly knocked to the ground by a man who whispers a dire warning…and presses a letter into her hands before fleeing. The letter seems innocuous enough—merely plans for a gentleman to meet his lover. But for Rose, the mark with which it is sealed recalls her idyllic childhood in India and a world that was destroyed one terrible night, when an uprising left her dearest friend, Hugo, dead.

Amidst a city enthralled by its Great Exhibition, Rose is pulled back into the exotic land of her youth, as the past comes unimaginably alive. Caught in a web of deceit and intrigue, she must unravel the strange machinations of a man whose lust for power will threaten a monarchy—and Rose's own heart.