Evelyn Vale was once the unwanted eldest daughter of the old-money Vale family, cast out after a childhood tragedy. Years later, she leads the Glass Veil, the organization ranked first on the Black Ledger. While dealing with the Black Dragon Syndicate in Madrigal Freeport, she learns that her father, Arthur Vale, has died.
She returns to Port Sterling with her loyal operative Vesper and discovers that her cousin Grant and his father, Preston, are using the family's grief to seize Vale Holdings. Her five-year-old half brother Theo is the first to trust her. He tells her that their relatives and the board hounded Arthur to his death. Evelyn storms the boardroom and forces the directors to surrender their shares and voting rights for Theo's benefit. A sand timer gives them one last chance to sign. At Arthur's sparsely attended memorial, Evelyn confronts her stepmother, Natalie, and demands an apology from Grant. When he tries to buy her off, she tears up his checks. A shocking toast exposes the powder in Arthur's urn as a fake and sends her after his missing body. The daughter they cast out has come home to protect her family and uncover the betrayal that destroyed it.
