In Georgian Glasgow, a seventeen-year-old mother stands trial for her life...

Clare Kelso has been locked in the Tolbooth, accused of murdering her own infant son. The baby's father has vanished and she has no one to turn to.

Maverick lawyer Cameron Adams, summoned from Edinburgh to defend the guilty, soon comes to believe that the frail girl who refuses to defend herself could be a murderer's second victim.

The key to the truth lies with Frederick Striker. Gambler, seducer, adventurer, he alone can save Clare from the gallows. If he wishes to . . .

Clare and Frederick's tumultuous story continues in Shadows on the Shore.