In this first of a new series of spirited historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco, former Pinkerton operative Sabina Carpenter and her partner, ex-Secret Service agent John Quincannon, undertake two apparently unrelated investigations. Sabina's case involves the hunt for a ruthless pickpocket who uses fiendish means to relieve her victims of their valuables. She strikes most often at an amusement park, in a torchlit pitchman’s bazaar, and among the crowds along the evening Cocktail Route. Quincannon is after a slippery housebreaker who targets the homes of the city’s wealthy residents. Following the trail leads Quincannon to the infamous Barbary Coast, an oyster pirate’s lair, and a Tenderloin house of joy. The cast of characters also includes a pair of receivers of stolen merchandise, a retired lady “dip,” an alcoholic lawyer and his wife, a mysterious carriage driver — and a man claiming to be Sherlock Holmes. The two cases eventually connect in surprising fashion, but not before matters are complicated by two murders, assorted felonies, and the constant interference of the bughouse Sherlock — a shrewd “crackbrain” who hinders, exasperates, and nearly outshines both Sabina and Quincannon with clever detective work of his own