Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her crime-solving partner Thomas Creswell travel across the Atlantic aboard the luxury steamship Etruria. A special attraction for first class passengers is a troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers and a very charismatic young illusionist. But how are the brutal murders of noble young girls that shocked everyone on board related to them? One thing is clear: the killer must be calculated before the Etruria arrives at the port of destination.

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Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Creswell arrived in America - so unlike aristocratic London. But, like London, Chicago has its own dark secrets: having arrived at the World's Fair, lovers learn about missing people and unsolved crimes.

Trying to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their own investigation and encounter a serial killer the likes of which they have never seen before. But identifying him is only half the battle, and catching him and not getting lost in the famous "Murder Castle", built specifically for the sophisticated killing of victims, is a more difficult task.

Will Audrey Rose and Thomas be able to bring this matter to an end , saving their lives and love, or will their luck leave them when their most immoral adversary strikes the last, murderous blow?