When renowned scientist Isaac Newton took up the post of Warden of His Majestys Mint in London, another kind of geniusa preternaturally gifted counterfeiter named William Chalonerhad already taken up residence in the city, rising quickly in an unruly, competitive underworld. In the courts and streets of London, and amid the tremors of a world being transformed by ideas Newton himself had set in motion, Chaloner crosses paths with the formidable new warden. An epic game of cat and mouse ensues in , revealing for the first time that Newton was not only one of the greatest minds of his age, but also a remarkably intrepid investigator.