Trouble's brewing in the Devil's Half Acre. A death in an alleyway, a tragic accident in a factory, rumours of a murderer loose on the streets. It's enough to give a genteel lady a fit of the vapours. Fortunately, Grace Penrose isn't one to swoon at the sight of blood. All she wants is the chance to become the first female doctor in the colony. Instead, she must confront the harsh realities of the city's most notorious sweatshop.

When the police prove reluctant to investigate the deaths, she turns to a constable who is already up to his neck in trouble. Grace Penrose and Constable Charlie Pyke must figure out which deaths are accidents and which are murders, because the next victim might well be one of their own.

The Penrose & Pyke Mystery series is set during a remarkable period of social upheaval in 1890s New Zealand. The fight for women's rights has never been such deadly fun.