London decorator William Ashcroft has just inherited a house in Coeursleigh-near-Sea, a holiday town that models itself on Bath and Brighton, from an uncle he barely knew. When he arrives in Coeursleigh, he finds a property that, with a little work, will make a profitable investment, and a charming draper’s assistant he’d like to get to know better.

Alan Clarke has decided it’s time to be practical. The sort of painting he’s good at will never get him into the Academy, so won’t make him a living, certainly not enough to live somewhere like London. So he has arrived in Coeursleigh-near-Sea to take up a temporary position as a draper’s clerk in the hopes that it will get him a good recommendation that might lead to a permanent position somewhere more interesting than the village he grew up in. And working Coeursleigh is certainly interesting, particularly with the handsome decorator needing lots of fabric to decorate his new house.

Just as William and Alan settle into a comfortable, if temporary, arrangement, William begins receiving unusual offers for his new house, unusual and suspicious. This is troublesome both because any mystery around his inheritance will interfere with his plan to rent out the house, and because dealing with the mystery is taking up the limited time he has with Alan before they both leave Coeursleigh, something he doesn’t want to think about.

Second in a series of books set in Coeursleigh-near-Sea, a holiday town in Regency England that had fashioned itself on Bath and Brighton, complete with assembly rooms, seasons for the marriage mart, and one thing the other towns don’t have-a Master of Ceremonies known for his match-making skills.