Summoned to England's scenic Lake District by an anonymous letter, Bow Street Runner John Pickett and his wife, Julia, pose as a honeymooning couple, taking a room at the Hart and Hound as the letter instructs him. A midnight search of the inn's register identifies the innkeeper, Ned Hawkins, as his contact, but before Pickett can arrange a meeting, Hawkins is pushed from a cliff, surviving only long enough to utter one cryptic clue. To make matters worse, Julia saw it happen-and now she may be next on the killer's list.