Jacob Silver's wrought iron garden gate disappears, and two lovers vanish into the night with a stolen horse and cart. There appears to be no connection between the events, until the gate reappears, along with a corpse and a terrified girl.

Although Jacob and his housemaid Sarah Simm are both viewed with suspicion in their Cotswold market town, the local police inspector enlists their help in discovering what happened that fateful night. With the stolen gate, a stray nail and a few whispered words as the only clues, they follow a trail that leads to a murder forged in a fire of jealousy and revenge.

'Forged in the Fire' is the second novel in the Silver and Simm Victorian Mysteries series.