"I rushed between the stalls, pushing people aside as I hurried toward her. She saw me and started shouting, 'Someone took my baby!' My heart was already pounding in my ears, my eyes moving fast around the crowd. 'Your child! What was she wearing?' She reached out and grabbed my coat sleeve. 'I only turned a second and she was gone.'"

A consumptive flower seller, a dead baron, and an embroidered handkerchief hold the key to a chilling conspiracy. Can Máté Nádasdy unravel the truth before innocent blood is spilled?

When a precious artifact is stolen from an aging baron, Máté Nádasdy, a coffeehouse owner in 19th century Budapest, is hired to find it despite his past military failures; but when he discovers the relic may carry a curse, he must commit to finding the object before the baron dies.

When Máté and Róbert make an innocent bet to see who can first observe a crime, it only takes moments for Máté to observe a suspicious exchange at the coffeehouse across the avenue. But when chaos erupts, Máté can't help but involve himself—and a reluctant Róbert—in bringing justice to the moment, even though the mastermind might well go free.