Four women, ghree of whom are black, are victims of violent crime in Kingsmarkham. Two are murdered, one is missiong and the other has been viciously beaten. Barely alive, it is she who will provide Inspector Wexfor with the information that leads him down a puzzling and shocking path of discovery.

During the period between 1964 and 1977: the royal family mourns the passing of Winston Churchill; the United Kingdom ushers in a new prime minister, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson whom Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth hear might be a Soviet spy; survives the Aberfan disaster; observes the Apollo 11 moon landing; and plans for the Investiture of Prince Charles. While Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon visit the USA, the queen, at the bidding of...

The resourceful and witty orphan, Becky Sharp, eludes her destiny as a governess through amoral behavior, while Amelia Sedley, daughter of a wealthy merchant, has a loving mother to supervise her courtship. Together, the classic characters provide a deeply sarcastic, scathing denunciation of upper crust Victorian society.