Scotland Yard Superintendent Perry Trethowan and his wife are enjoying a vacation evening at a cosy Yorkshire pub – until an old woman from the outskirts of town strikes up a conversation that nearly gets her killed. Inside her blue leather handbag is either a clever forgery or an original unpublished Brontë manuscript. Spurred on by his wife’s unabating curiosity, Trethowan finds himself engaged in a little literary detective work. But he had better tread lightly: A new Brontë would be an invaluable discovery for the publishers and scholars of London, but for a vicious criminal, it’s motive enough for theft, torture, even murder.