In Sterling Glass' line of work, it's not unusual to unearth a few family skeletons among the family heirlooms she appraises. But when she's called in to determine the worth of a diamond brooch found tucked inside an oven glove over at the Salvation Army charity store, and when the appraisal of an extremely modest estate turns up an 1810, Paul Storr tea urn hidden inside a blanket and worth at least fifty grand-things just don't add up. It's not long before she uncovers a plot involving a slew of antique pieces, the oldest families of Leemont, some sophisticated scammers, crooked antique dealers, and shifty people, at the best New York auction houses. Add to that one elderly man who's just trying to preserve his family's treasured collection of bronze and ivory Art Deco sculptures, and suddenly Sterling finds herself ensnared in a mystery laced with greed, deceit, and danger.