It is the spring of 1563, and Susanna, Lady Appleton, wants only to tend to the medicinal herbs in the garden of her London townhouse. But the appearance of a mysterious veiled woman disrupts her plans. Is the woman just another mistress of Robert's, her forever-philandering husband? When the gentlewoman is found dead with a snapped neck in London's notorious brothel district, and her last known visitor was Robert, Lady Appleton is forced to investigate. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a string of murders from years dark-haired of dark-ahaired women, all occurring on St. Mark's Day, and, most perplexing, all with a goose feather left by the bodies. For Susanna, nobody, not even her own husband, is above suspicion.