The story takes place in Paris, June 1787. At the court of Versailles one of Marie Antoinette's favorite ladies-in-waiting, the Duchesse de Saumur, has been found murdered. The duchess's deaf maid, Denise de Villers, is accused. Anne Cartier, teacher at the Institute for the Deaf in Paris, is soon drawn into the murder investigation together with her husband Paul de Saint-Martin, to prove the maid's innocence. The investigation stalls. The queen demands the case be resolved quickly. The palace provost insists on the deaf maid's guilt and convicts her. For weeks she languishes in prison awaiting a rapidly approaching horrific public execution. Anne nearly despairs of saving her. Then, from the pen of the dead duchess herself comes a story of past crime in high places. Anne and her friends set about unraveling a devilishly clever scheme of retribution. . . . .