Don Gutteridge

It's a steamy June in Toronto, 1836. Lieutenant Marc Edwards has again found himself sitting atop a lit powderkeg in more ways than one. A prominent politician has been assassinated, and in their haste to catch the killer, Marc and his troops are responsible for the death of an innocent local man. Making matters even worse, Marc may have accidentally gotten himself engaged to the wrong woman, while the right woman still won't answer his letters. In order to track down the real assassin, Edwards joins forces with Constable Cobb of the newly created Toronto police force. Cobb's methods are somewhat different from Marc's; and investigations always end up in the local tavern, where it seems everyone knows far too much about Marc's romantic entanglements.

Pete and Lily's comfortable marriage is rocked by the surprise appearance of Lily's father, and when the man is found dead and Lily disappears, Pete embarks on a dangerous trip halfway around the world to solve the mystery of his wife's tragic past.

In 1838, American militia is raiding across the border, intent on annexing the Canadian provinces by any means necessary. Following a battle along the border, a high-ranking American officer is wounded and captured, but his boasts of escape and revenge are cut short when he is poisoned in his cell. All fingers point to Billy McNair, a young Canadian militia officer. Into this turmoil steps Marc Edwards, a decorated army officer who has traded his military uniform for a lawyers robes. Marc is convinced that the accused is innocent, and he sets forth to track down the killer. But everyone has an agenda, some personal and some political. Marc must rely on his every skill to secure a future not only for his friend but for his entire country.

This is the fifth novel in the action-packed Marc Edwards mysteries, set during the rebellions of 1830s Upper Canada.