Queen Victoria has a problem; there's a petty thief at work in buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the agency assigns quick-witted Mary Quinn to the case. Posing as a domestic in the royal household and fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales are challenging enough, but when the prince witnesses a murder in an opium den--and scandal threatens the royal family--Mary learns that the accused killer may be someone very close to her." -- Dust jacket.