A Trace of Smoke

Hardened crime reporter Hannah Vogel knows all too well how tough it is to survive in 1931 Berlin. Still, she is devastated when she sees a photograph of her brother's body in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead.

Ernst, a cross-dressing lounge singer, had many secrets, a never-ending list of lovers, and plenty of opportunities to get into trouble. While attempting to maintain her budding romance with a handsome, upstanding banker, Hannah delves into the city's dark underbelly to flush out her brother's murderer.

The late-night arrival of a five-year-old orphan on her doorstep complicates matters. The endearing Anton claims that Hannah's dead brother is his father... and Hannah is his mother.

Now Hannah must find not only her brother's murderer, but Anton's real parents, a task that seems impossible since all traces of his past have vanished. As her investigations uncover political intrigue and sex scandals in the top ranks of the rising Nazi party, Hannah fears not only for her own life, but for that of a small boy who calls her "Mother."