: The story is narrated by Christopher Ellis , a hot-tempered young gentleman sent to the Tower not as a prisoner, but to serve as Newton's assistant and bodyguard.

: The investigation into fake coins quickly turns dark when a body is discovered in the Tower's Lion Tower. Newton and Ellis find a mysterious coded message on the corpse, signaling that the counterfeiting is merely a small piece of a much larger, more dangerous conspiracy.

: Sir Isaac Newton, already a world-renowned scientist, is appointed Warden of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London. His primary mission is to hunt down counterfeiters who are crippling the English economy during the "Great Recoinage".

The story is set in , a city rife with political and religious tension.

(originally published as Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton ) is a historical thriller by British author Philip Kerr , first released in 2002 . Departing from his famous Bernie Gunther series, Kerr crafts a 17th-century mystery that reimagines Sir Isaac Newton and his assistant Christopher Ellis as a duo reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Plot Overview