Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper's case against Andrew Tripping, charged with the rape of investment banker Paige Vallis, is in trouble when she is handed a second case: the murder of a former Harlem Renaissance dancer, Queenie Ransome. Queenie was also a one-time mistress to King Farouk of Egypt, and reputedly fled the palace with handfuls of jewels. And as Alexandra begins untangling Queenie's dangerous, complex past, the threads of both cases begin to intertwine.

Abridged.