Following Queen Victoria's assassination in 1840, England's rulers had been receiving guidance from Abu El Yezdi, a dead mystic, but when high-ranking officials are kidnapped it is up to Sir Richard Burton to find the missing men and discover why Abu El Yezdi has suddenly become silent.

When Burton and Swinburne discover an abandoned brass man in Trafalgar Square, they find themselves on the trail of stolen black diamonds and embroiled in a plot involving the Tichborne Claimant and mysterious steam wraiths.

Ex-cop Cliff Janeway is hired by an elderly woman to search for and recover a collection of rare works by nineteenth-century explorer Richard Burton which were stolen from her grandfather, Charlie Warren; however, others are also interested in the century-old treasure and will do anything to stop Janeway from succeeding.