James Willoughby Pitt began life with a hard knock. The combination of his parents death during boyhood and his reluctant adoption by a wealthy Uncle laid the stage for a remarkable set of events. Pitt's Uncle made an ultimatum to the young boy with a penchant for delinquency. After being expelled from the finest prep schools Pitt was told, "go to work in my business or take this money and go your own way". He took the money and fled London landing in New York. The following decade taught him a lot about life including some handy skills like safe cracking and conmanship. For sure he struggled greatly in those early days. His survival due largely to friendships cultivated with nepherious characters. Pitt became a well dressed, articulate gentleman with a secret. He was a Jewell thief.
Turn the page and Pitt begins a new life. One morning he is reading the "Times" when he notes an advantageous post. "If Sir James Willoughby Pitt would call upon Messrs. Snell, Hazlewood, and Delane, solicitors, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, he would hear of something to his advantage." That advantage was the death of his Uncle who left his entire estate to Pitt.
Pitt seized the opportunity claimed his new found wealth and vowed to leave the old ways behind. His former life provided the adventure that he craved but like all people in that dark world he feared the road that led to Sing Sing. While in London adjusting to his new role as Baronet, Pitt dsicovered how small the world can be. He encounters an old partner in the "business" and an old flame who happens to be the daughter of a crooked New York cop. The resulting twists in plot lead to a captivating story in which Pitt may find love and happiness or he may find his exit from the old road was really a detour directly to Sing Sing.
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