Orphan Mary Quinn lives on the edge. Sentenced as a thief at the age of twelve, she's rescued from the gallows by a woman posing as a prison warden. In her new home, Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary acquires a singular education, ?ne manners, and a surprising opportunity. The school is a cover for the Agency? - ?an elite, top secret corps of female investigators with a reputation for results ? - ?and at seventeen, Mary's about to join their ranks. With London all but paralyzed by a noxious heat wave, Mary must work fast in the guise of lady's companion to in?ltrate a rich merchant's home with hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the Thorold household is full of dangerous secrets, and people are not what they seem? - ?least of all Mary. Packed with action and suspense, and evoking the gritty world of Victorian London, this ?rst book of the Agency series debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits.