London, 1856. The specimen-collecting craze is growing, and discoveries in far-off jungles are reshaping the known world in unimaginable ways. When the glamorous Lady Bessingham is found murdered in her bedroom, surrounded by her vast collection of fossils, Professor Adolphus Hatton and his morgue assistant Albert Roumande are called in to examine the crime scene - and the body.

In the new and suspicious world of forensics, Hatton and Roumande are the best. Enlisted by Scotland Yard detective Inspector Adams, the pair must make use of their expertise to help solve the case. But the crime scene is not confined to one room. In their efforts to track down the Lady's killer, Hatton and Roumande uncover a trail of murders, all connected to a packet of seditious letters that, if published, would change the face of society and religion forever.