A queen, a castle, a dark and ageless threat - all await Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes in this chilling new adventure.The queen is Marie of Roumania: the doubly royal granddaughter to Victoria, empress of the British Empire, and Alexander II, tsar of Russia.

A famous beauty who was married at 17 into Roumania's young dynasty, Marie had beguiled the Paris Peace Conference into returning her adopted country' s long-lost provinces, single-handedly transforming Roumania from a backwater into a force.The castle is Bran: a tall, quirky, ancient structure perched on high rocks overlooking the border between Roumania and its newly regained territory of Transylvania.

The castle was a gift to Queen Marie, a thanks from her people, and she loves it as she loves her own children.