Tom Wasp scrapes a living as a chimney sweep, aided by his young assistant, Ned. While the gap between rich and poor is unmistakable in Victorian London, Tom carves out a happy enough life and has plenty of friends, including Clara, the comely landlady of Dolly's Chop House. So when one of Clara's patrons is found murdered on her premises, Tom is quick to help, calling on his connections in the police force. Soon it becomes clear that Mr Harcourt's murder is not merely due to his philandering ways, but is part of something much more literary... Who are the Tarton Ordinaries and how are they linked to the death at Dolly's? Who really owns the mystery manuscript? And why are Tom's friend Phineas and Clara's beautiful daughter Hetty involved? It is up to Tom to find out what links an obscure Elizabethan actor with a slew of nineteenth century deaths in this absorbing and whimsical whodunit.