The Gilded Scarab

Captain Rafe Lancaster is forced out of the Aero Corps after a crash damages his eyesight, leaving him broke, displaced, and unsure of his place in society. Returning to Londinium in late 1899, he tries to build a new life outside the control of the powerful Houses that shape his world.

An opportunity to buy a coffeehouse near a museum gives Rafe a fresh start, along with new routines, new allies, and new complications. As he learns the business and moves through the city’s discreet social spaces, he crosses paths with men who matter to him in very different ways, while the politics of status, money, and family power tighten around him.

What begins as a search for purpose turns into a tangle of romance, secrecy, and danger. Rafe must navigate rivalry, pressure from his House, and threats that escalate into murder, kidnapping, and political maneuvering before he can find a stable place for himself and the man he loves.