Driving home late one night, Phryne Fisher is surprised when someone shoots out her windscreen. When she alights she finds a pretty young man with an anarchist tattoo dying on the tarmac just outside the dock gates. He bleeds to death in her arms, and all over her silk shirt.

Enraged by the loss of the clothing, the damage to her car, and this senseless waste of human life, Phryne promises to find out who is responsible. But she doesn't yet know how deeply into the mire she'll have to go: bank robbery, tattoo parlours, pubs, spiritualist halls, and anarchists.

Along this path, Phryne meets Peter, a scarred but delectable wharfie who begins to unfold the mystery of who would need a machine gun in Melbourne. But when someone kidnaps her cherished companion, Dot, Phryne will stop at nothing to retrieve her.

Reviews

"The glamorous, indestructible Australian flapper Phryne Fisher avenges the death of a young man who dies in her arms after she and her car are shot at by two men. Although Phryne and members of her household are in danger from anarchists, they manage to foil a bank robbery while also solving the case of a missing young girl. The always well-dressed, fearless Phryne can take care of herself, enjoys her sexuality, and is a woman ahead of her times in the Australia of the late 1920s. She is supported in her adventurous lifestlye by her maid and companion, Dot, and by Mr. and Mrs. Butler, who run her household while asking no questions. A fresh time period and location, a feisty main character, and a well-developed sense of place distinguish this historical mystery series. Of 15 available Phryne Fisher mysteries, this is the ninth to be published in the U.S."--Booklist