When a glamorous socialite is found dead at her breakfast table, police detective Freya Winterglass is delighted to be assigned the case, even if it’s only because of her personal connection to the Gentry. But when the chief suspect turns out to be a svartalf, simmering tensions between the light and dark elves begin to boil over. Unless Freya can prove him innocent, more lives could be lost and her beloved city plunged into civil war.

Gentleman jewel thief Lucian Thorne has been lying low for a while, but he cannot stay away from the charming detective inspector forever, even if she knows far too much about him for comfort. While she is distracted by the murder case, he and his friends plan to steal a solid gold statuette of a griffin, currently on display at the city museum-but they’re not the only thieves with their eyes on this particular prize.

Neither Freya nor Lucian is prepared for the tangle of family secrets, ancient feuds and long-forgotten crimes that their activities will uncover, but a shared problem can only bring them closer together. Can’t it?