In times of trouble, the city of Partington looks to its favorite son--the greatest detective ever known. But just who are Simon Archard and his lovely partner, Emma Bishop? This is the burning question behind each fantastic case solved by these stylish sleuths. In a world where a veneer of Victorian finery hides mammoth mysteries, Simon and Emma maybe the biggest mystery of all. But Simon was previously apprentice to another detective, the cold and calculating Malcolm Lightbourne. Once though dead, Lightbourne has returned with a vengeance of climatic proportions!