Amateur detective Kaveri Murthy returns with her most complex case yet: investigating a series of murders that take her from the bungalows of Bangalore to the mist-enshrouded mountains of Coorg.

Bangalore, 1922: Pregnant and confined to the house by her protective mother-in-law, Kaveri Murthy has resolved to take a break from detection. But when an elderly woman is murdered at night, after asking for Kaveri's help – how can she refuse? Kaveri investigates her new case, finding a trail of secrets that leads her to suspect the killer may be in Coorg.

Eager to be reunited with her husband who is working there, Kaveri sets off to Coorg, but encounters a thorny thicket of cases when she arrives. Why does a ghost leopard prowl the forests at night? And who is trying to kill Colonel Boyd, the Coffee King of Coorg? She finds suspects in every coffee bush and estate – from Boyd's surly plantation manager and security guard to the feuding brothers who own the neighbouring plantation and the many women the Coffee King has pursued and abandoned.

When two vulnerable children appeal for her help, Kaveri is drawn deeper into the case, becoming emotionally involved in finding the killer. Soon, one murder turns into two – and then a few days later into three. Now the killer has tasted blood and needs to be stopped. In this stunning new novel by an acclaimed master of the form, the Bangalore Detectives Club must find and expose a brutally intelligent killer before they strike again.