© Amazon.fr
Dodger lives in early Victoria London and makes a living as a tosher, finding
and reselling precious objects and coins in the sewers. One night he saves the
life of a young woman who was beaten up by unknown men. Charles Dickens and
Henry Mayhew, who happended to pass by help Dodger and take the woman, who
refuses to tell her name, to Mayhew's place. Dodger takes in interest in the
woman, named Simplicity by Mayhew, and promises himself to avenge her. During
his investigation, he accidentally arrests Sweeney Todd and thanks to Dickens
who writes about him in the newspaper and has opens a subscription for him, he
becomes famous and much richer than he has ever been. He learns from
Simplicity that she is the daughter of a German teacher and married to a
German prince against his father's will, and the latter is attempting to get
her killed so that his son can be married to a more politically suitable
woman. The British government, to avoid diplomatical complications with
Germany is in favour of sending Simplicity back. Moreover, the rumor has it
that the Germans have sent the Outlander, an assassin that nobody has ever
been able to identify, to kill Simplicity and Dodger. Dodger and Dickens then
hide Simplicity at Angela Burdett-Coutts place, a known philantropist. Dodger
then devises a plan to officially get Simplicity dead: taking advantage of
guiding Benjamin Disraeli, Dickens, Mayhew and Simplicity disguised as a boy
in a visit through the sewers, Simplicity is supposed to get lost and killed
by the Outlander, while the rest of the group find a disfigured body (stolen
from the Coroner's mortuary) that looks like Simplicity. During the visit in
the sewers, the real Outlander (a woman) attacks Dodger, but his is saved by
Simplicity in the nick of time. Dodger's plan can anyway proceed, and
Simplicity is now free from her awful husband. Dodger and her plan to get
married; Dodger is also hired by the Queen to become one of her spies.