Propelled by survival and the need to clear his name, Aramis takes a death-defying leap to a tree, which fails to hold him. By dint of prodigious effort he makes his way to the palace wall and in desperation seeks his fellow musketeers on guard duty. True friends, they hustle him away.

Urged by the Queen to find and punish the killer, Cardinal Richelieu sends his guards to arrest Aramis. His friends defend him, but to avoid capture and execution he must flee Paris. Returning to his ancestral home, he finds his mother's insistence he take religious vows annoying. He also learns more about his father's mysterious early death

Meanwhile, his friends search for motives and clues to the murder. Athos, wounded after an attack by Richelieu's guards, seeks refuge with an old friend, the Duke de Dreux, husband of the murdered woman. After much discussion, he concludes the Duke did not kill his wife.

In Paris, Porthos seeks information on the secret passages in the palace. Despite finding a peephole to the Duchess's apartment, he cannot locate another entrance. An amorous cook complicates his search.

An ornate dagger used to kill the Duchess provides more clues and raises the possibility of treachery at the highest levels. With too many motives and suspects, the musketeers struggle to identify the murderer before Richelieu can find and try Aramis.

D'Almeida provides a richly detailed glimpse into Dumas's world. Her series of Musketeer Mysteries, featuring the three musketeers, Aramis, Porthos, and Athos, and their friend D'Artagnan, embroideries and expands the relationships among the four men.

Her first Musketeer Mystery, Death of a Musketeer appeared in 2006, followed by the Musketeer's Seamstress, 2007. Two more are scheduled, the forthcoming Musketeer's Apprentice, Fall 2007, and A Death in Gascony, 2008. She also writes fantasy and alternative history novels as Sarah Hoyt.