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The sewing girl in the New York mansion of wealthy Mr. Blake has been abducted. Traces of struggle and drops of blood are visible in her room. And yet how did the abductors get her out a window and down a tall ladder without some cooperation from her? The housekeeper, Mrs. Daniels, appeals to police inspector Ebenezer Gryce to find the girl and keep the search quiet. She wants to protect the privacy of her aristocratic employer. Holman Blake, though relatively young, is reclusive and hates any sort of notoriety. Mrs. Daniels offers her savings to help fund the investigation, a strange act considering she's not a relative. But then there are lots of strange things about the sewing girl. Her room is curiously large and elegant for a servant, and she's been reading Shakespeare. The investigation takes many a surprising direction, from an exclusive Charity Ball to the most disreputable streets in New York to a sinister old inn deep in the mountains of Vermont. Frustrated love and the love of wealth play an important role in a plot rich in mystery and dark deeds.