Some corpses lie undisturbed longer than others. But when Emily discovers a body hidden in plain sight amongst the ruins of Pompeii, she sets in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her future to the fate of a woman whose body had lain undisturbed for nearly two thousand years.
Skillfully intertwining storylines from the dawn of the twentieth century and the heyday of the Roman Empire - each rich in historical detail and vividly brought to life by Alexander's meticulous research - Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, accompany her dear friend Ivy Brandon to Italy. When they uncover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Emily launches an investigation of her own. She seems to be aided by the archaeologists at the dig, including a moody painter, an enigmatic site director, and a free - thinking American capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge. But each of them have their own secrets hiding among the ruins.
The sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves family throws Emily's investigation off - course. And as she struggles to face an unsettling truth about Colin's past, it becomes clear that someone else wants her off the case-for good. Emily's resolve to unearth the facts is unshakable. How far below the surface can she dig before she risks burying herself along with the truth?
