Elfie Lee died aged 92 in 2005, leaving behind an unclaimed estate of 300,000 pounds but no immediate family. As they hunt for potential heirs, the team members at Fraser and Fraser are forced to spread the net far and wide. As the trail snakes its way through the Sudan, Algeria, Egypt and Zimbabwe, it becomes apparent that Elfie's story is inextricably linked to the spread of a communications system that revolutionised the 19th century and helped ensure the smooth running of the British Empire. Back in England, Suffolk based Mitchell and Co is investigating the extraordinary case of Dorothea Allen. A high-society millionairess who made her fortune from a massively successful corsetry business, she owned a huge mansion, exquisite furniture, lavish jewellery and the obligatory Rolls-Royce. But as investigators discover, Dorothea led an incredible double-life, and as the mystery deepens the team wonders what dark secrets could have led her to systematically destroy her own identity?