In October of 1885, mathematician and Oxford don Charles Dodgson--better known as Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--arrives in Portsmouth to visit a few days with his friend Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle. Though months earlier the two met and were swept up in a case of kidnapping and murder, this time the Reverend Dodgson is looking forward to a more restful visit. But that is not to be.

An old, retired sea captain recently died of what everyone believed to be natural causes--everyone except his physician, Dr. Doyle. Now his suspicions are delaying the captain's funeral and the settling of his estate, placing his family in a precarious position. Shortly after the inquest, an emissary of the Rajah of Rajitpoor arrives at the dead man's door, claiming to have an appointment with the deceased to discuss an important missing treasure stolen decades before from India. With this new mystery and the unanswered questions about the sea captain's death, Mrs. Cavanaugh--the longtime housekeeper for the captain--offers a solution. Claiming to be a spiritualist, she offers to conduct a sance to contact the dead man and get him to reveal the secrets behind his death and the missing treasure.

But no sooner does the seance get under way than the spiritualist dies--with the word "murder" on her lips. Now Dr. Doyle and Mr. Dodgson must resolve the mysteries of the past and present before another mysterious death occurs.