In 1847, an orphaned baby is rescued as the sole survivor of a massacre in a Polish village. Many years later a mysterious and disturbed Russian lady turns up unexpectedly at one of Mr Dolly's regular Friday night dinner parties. So begins a search for identity and lost inheritance in the seedy and crowded streets of nineteenth century London.
Leon Garfield was the acclaimed author of more than thirty novels for children and adults. He received many accolades during his career, including the inaugural Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Literary Award.