"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 challenge 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."--p.4 of cover.