Joey is a coster boy in the East End of London - selling oranges out of his shallow basket to make his living.

He feels a bit different from the other barrow boys, as he knows that there is a mystery in his past - people say his real father was a lord.

The mystery deepens when a man is murdered, and Joey becomes the chief susupect.

He goes into hiding, but is determined to find out the truth both about the murder and about his father.

Set in the first half of the nineteenth century, this is a beautifully-researched and atmospherically-written historical thriller.