Shifting the setting to a construction site at the Houses of Parliament, Lee explores the lives of working class laborers as Mary Quinn goes undercover as a twelve year-old boy to investigate a suspicious death. She once again runs in to love interest/thorn-in-side James Easton, who has been ravaged by malaria but is no less challenging. Mary confronts some of the demons of her past as she brushes against some of the hardships of working life, and we see her growth as a character.