One year after they worked together to capture a fugitive necromancer, Nella Dormanni is thrilled to welcome her colleague Mainu back in New Montres. To her surprise, the dashing lieutenant isn't merely in town for a leisurely visit, but to track down a wealthy socialite who's gone missing─and what's more, he asks Nel to help. The two of them embark on what Nel assumes to be a routine investigation, only to find there's much more to the story than her partner let on.
Across town, Thessa runs into trouble of her own when the Garden of Lilies, one of the city's most reputable red-light houses, becomes the scene of a horrific murder. Though the city guard arrests an obvious suspect, Thessa is convinced they're mistaken; and so, with the aid of her trusty friend Corlis, she offers to help unravel the mystery.
The two pairs each delve into the bowels of New Montres, from the highest society to the lowest of slums, eager to find answers to their burning questions─but do they have the courage to face how deep the roots of intrigue go?