The Summer Birdcage

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Duke's Company actress Kitty Burgess seemed destined for greatness until she disappears after the premiere of Aminta Grey's new play, The Summer Birdcage. A fellow actor claims to have seen her forced into a black coach with six horses outside the theatre, and soon after, a young woman's body is discovered in Hertfordshire, believed to be Kitty. Aminta and her husband, Sir John Grey, travel to identify the victim, but the body is so badly beaten that identification is challenging. Three clues remain: the dress, a ring, and a copy of Aminta's script found with the body. Back in London, Aminta spots a woman resembling Kitty but loses her in the crowd. Meanwhile, rumors circulate at court that Kitty was poised to become the king's mistress, with Lady Castlemaine suspected of orchestrating her disappearance and possible murder. As John Grey realizes that proving Kitty's survival is no longer just Aminta's mission, it becomes clear that her vanishing is part of a larger conspiracy. Kitty may be entangled in a perilous and potentially lethal role, one from which escape may be impossible.