Black Gold is the second in a series of historical mysteries set in England and France on the eve of the French Revolution. The setting is Bath, a lovely Georgian city and England's most fashionable spa, during the spring season of 1787. The "players" include haughty aristocrats, wealthy upstart businessmen, social climbing women, adventurers, courtesans, sharpers, addicted gamblers, and a representative sample of the dregs of English society.

Anne Cartier goes to Bath to tutor the deaf son of a Bristol slaver. Unexpectedly, Anne's friend from Paris, Colonel Paul de Saint-Martin arrives in Bath, pursuing a rogue former captain in the French service. Add to this Jack Roach, a malign ghost from Anne's past, a black slave bare-knuckle fighter yearning for freedom, and a shrewd Bow Street detective, and you have a deadly brew.

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