It's Chicago in 1893 and Emily Cabot, an aspiring sociologist, finds work at Hull House, the famous settlement established by Jane Addams. There she quickly becomes involved in the political and social problems of the immigrant community. But when a man who works for a sweatshop owner is murdered in the Hull House parlor, Emily must determine whether one of her colleagues is responsible, or whether the real reason for the murder is revenge for a past tragedy in her own family. As a smallpox epidemic spreads through the impoverished West Side of Chicago, the very existence of the settlement is threatened and Emily finds herself in jeopardy from both the deadly disease and a killer. This is the exciting sequel to Death at the Fair. "This is a first-rate historical mystery and a fascinating look at life in turn-of-the-century Chicago. McNamara does an excellent job depicting and incorporating into the story theimmigrants' struggle to make a living amid wretched working and living conditions,the political corruption of the time, the work of social reformers like Jane Addams and Florence Kelley, and the early days of the University of Chicago." -Historical Novel Society