In the year 1816, the Pack of St. James meets in secret in their London lair. An unknown assailant has begun to prey upon the women who consort with the men of the Pack - two have already died in mysterious ways and a poisoned communication threatens still more. With Kyril Taruskin and his love Vivienne away in the far north, attending to the clan's business in the Russian port of Archangel, his brother Marko begins to investigate - and finds the trail leads to a scandalous beauty known only as Severin.One of the victims was Severin's half-sister, but that alone is not enough to explain her intimate knowledge of the strange case. Well aware how a clever woman can hide more than she reveals, Marko employs all his powers of sensual persuasion, barely able to resist the allure of her amber eyes and softly seductive voice. He has never been outwitted by a woman. But Severin is different from all the rest - very different - and loving her is a dangerous game indeed...