It's the waning days of the summer of 1805, and Jane Austen is off to the Canterbury Races, where polite society to gamble away their fortunes, risk their reputations and flirt with ruin. The crowd, intent on sport and scandal, are determined to ignore the rumour that Napoleon's dreaded army sits but a stone's toss across the Channel.
But even Jane is unprepared for the shocking drama that ensues when a raven-haired beauty in a scarlet riding habit takes centre stage. And hours later, when the final race is won, the unthinkable is revealed in a shabby chaise - for there lies the beauty's lifeless body, her crimson riding habit nowhere to be seen.
As Jane is called upon to solve the shattering crime, she begins to realise that as well as confronting the scheming mind of a killer, she could also face a terrifying threat to the security of an entire nation...
