Perry, Anne

When Countess Zorah Rostova sweeps into the office of London barrister Sir Oliver Rathbone and asks him to defend her against a serious charge of slander, he is astonished to find himself accepting. For, from what he learns of the case, a defense of the countess can only earn him notoriety.

Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt looks into the suspicious death of his childhood mentor, and at the same time investigates treachery in the Colonial office, where someone is passing vital information to Germany about England's African strategy.