Liam O'Malley was just looking for an honest job. The California Gold Rush wasn't paying off for him, and he was tired of living in tents. In San Francisco he did find employment, but he wasn't sure how honest. He found himself assistant to a Daguerreotype photographer who specialized in photographing ghosts and departed spirits. Of course the pictures were all fake. Liam became sure of that when he learned to make the pictures himself. He didn't know he was about to get involved with Prince Susslov, self-appointed Witch Hunter. Or with Delia, daughter of an escaped slave and the most fascinating woman he'd ever met.