From the bestselling author of the American in Paris mysteries featuring Julia Child's fictional best friend, and the Phyllida Bright mysteries featuring Agatha Christie's fictional housekeeper, this intriguing mystery stars quick-witted Adam Quinn, President Lincoln's newly hired aide, on a momentous day . . . March 4, 1861: On the day of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration gala, the last thing anyone wants is a hitch in the proceedings--let alone murder. But when the worst happens, fortunately, Mr. Lincoln has his resourceful aide by his side . . . When a man is found stabbed to death only yards from the new president, Lincoln dispatches his trusted aide Adam Quinn to discreetly investigate. Was it an assassination attempt gone wrong or some other sinister motive? Though he is new to the capital city, Quinn, an experienced tracker and seasoned soldier, is well-suited to the task. Though he must navigate the unfamiliar world of high society, political personages, and a city preparing for war, he finds an unexpected ally in determined young Sophie Gates, who lives in the Smithsonian Institution with her uncle and his family. Sophie is determined to make a name for herself as a journalist, and investigating a murder at the gala is the perfect opportunity. Quinn and Gates, along with George Hilton, a free man of color and brilliant physician, plunge into a city teeming with spies and dark plots as it careens toward war. Together, they must make haste to apprehend a killer--for nothing less than the fate of the nation is at stake . . .