Stepsisters Mary and Jane find themselves caught up in a mystery involving a drowned Russian and missing diamonds, while falling for the charms of poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron in this gripping historical mystery. 1814: Foreign diplomats are descending on London in advance of the Congress of Vienna meetings to formulate a new peace plan for Europe following Napoleon's downfall. Mary and Jane's father, William Godwin, is hosting a gathering with an advance party of Russian royal staff. The Russians are enthusiastic followers of Mary's late mother, philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, which leads to a lively dinner discussion. Following their visit, Jane overhears her father reassuring his pushiest creditor that the Russians have pledged diamonds to support his publishing venture, the Juvenile Library. But when Godwin is told the man who promised the diamonds was pulled from the River Thames, his dire financial problems are further complicated by the suspicion that the family may have been involved in the murder. Stepsisters Mary and Jane resolve to find the real killer to clear the family name. Coming to their aid is Godwin's disciple, the dashing poet Percy Shelley, who seems increasingly devoted to Mary, despite the fact that he is married.

And a young woman Jane befriends turns out to be the mistress of the celebrated poet--and infamous lover--Lord Byron.