In the last years of Victoria's reign, London is beset by the "Touched": people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True, a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair, a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place.

A squad of police cars responding to an emergency call races through the streets of Atlanta. Upon arrival at the crime scene, they see complete desolation. Dead bodies are everywhere. And they apparently just missed the killer, though one of his victims, the head of New York's Russian mafia, survived. The family's crime operation then comes to London, but unknown to them, the assassin has also moved there and is working for the police as a pathologist. And while the family is still hunting the assassin, he is on his own mission of revenge.