John Rawlings, London's effervescent 18th Century apothecary and occasional sleuth, tackles his most intriguing case to date. The scene was an exact replica of the one that had taken place twenty-four hours earlier. John Rawlings stood in the shop at Apothecaries' Hall buying the herb known as true-love. The only difference was that both he and the shop owner were buzzing with intrigue as they discussed the extraordinary outbreak of food poisoning which had stricken the liverymen who attended dinner at the Worshipful Society the previous day. And how Liveryman Alleyn might have died had John not given him the remedy of true-love. Except the following day Liveryman Alleyn does die. Under the brief and guidance of London's famous blind magistrate, John Fielding Rawlings is asked to investigate wether it is a deliberate case of poisoning. But who would want to poison the apothecaries? And were they targeting the Society or specifically the deceased? As John searches for gossip, he discovers that a fellow apothecary visited the dying man's house on the morning of his death, that the Beadle had fallen out with the Master, that a bereaved parent whose son died as a result of misdiagnosis has vowed vengeance on the entire Society.