"Wings of Fire" by Charles Todd is the second installment in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series. The novel is set in the aftermath of World War I and follows the experiences of Inspector Ian Rutledge, who struggles with shell shock and haunting war memories. Rutledge is called upon by Scotland Yard to handle a peculiar case in the village of Borcombe, Cornwall.
Lady Rachel Ashford, a member of the influential Trevelyan family, has requested Scotland Yard's assistance in investigating a series of deaths in her family. The deaths include the apparent double-suicide of Olivia Marlowe, a well-known war poet who wrote under the pseudonym O. A. Manning, and her half-brother, Nicholas Cheney. Both were found dead from laudanum poisoning. Shortly after their suicides, their half-brother, Stephen FitzHugh, who had also suffered war injuries, dies after a fall down the stairs at Trevelyan Hall.
Although the deaths may not seem suspicious to others, Lady Ashford believes otherwise. Rutledge must use his detective skills to determine the circumstances surrounding these deaths, including Olivia's poetry and the secrets of the Trevelyan family's past. He uncovers earlier family secrets, such as the accidental death of Olivia's twin, Anne, and the disappearance of five-year-old Richard. Additionally, Cormac FitzHugh, the son of Rosamund Trevelyan's last husband, is attempting to acquire Trevelyan Hall, and Stephen had opposed this acquisition.
Rutledge faces opposition from locals, including the police chief, other family members, and the doctor. Throughout his investigation, Rutledge must also confront his own war-related trauma. By the end of the novel, Rutledge deduces that the deaths are connected to a long trail of murder.
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