Officer, radio announcer, heartbreaker, jazzman.
Ed Chauncey lives his life at top volume. Large in body and spirit, loud in voice and demeanour, unapologetically queer, he divides his time between the radio studio, London’s most fashionable clubs, and his cosy bachelor pad. Above all things, he takes pride in his wide and varied social circle: whether in among jazz fanatics or raging queers, high society or the magical underworld, Ed knows everyone.
Among his friends, Ed counts Tommy Marsh, a young South London barman with whom he had a fling several years ago. Despite the enormous gulf between their social circles, Ed is rather attached to Tommy, so when Tommy is faced with a troubling magical problem, Ed feels obliged to help. But it’s with some trepidation that he refers Tommy to Peter Belrose.
Belrose is a Trueheart, a member of a secret magical order about which - despite his insatiable curiosity and excellent connections - Ed knows very little. The Truehearts are notorious for their eccentricity and their involvement in dangerous matters, and Belrose, sequestered in the countryside far away from London, might be more eccentric than most.
Ed doesn’t trust the Truehearts. But when Tommy’s problem turns out to be much greater than anticipated, can Ed bring himself to join with them long enough to help?