Weaver's father perished recently, as did one of his close associates, Mr Balfour. Weaver suspect foul play, but how to find out who is responsible? The son of Mr Balfour comes to Weaver and voices his suspicions that the men were murdered, and hires Weaver to discover the truth. It turns out his father was a "stock jobber", one of the original brokers on the London Exchange. His father was going to write a pamphlet discussing forgeries in the stock certificates of the South Sea Company, but he died before he could publish. Is it possible someone in the South Sea Company did him in? Weaver is beset on every turn by powerful men who have ever interest in seeing him fail - or do they in fact want him to succeed? What about Bloathwaite at the Bank of England - he has long hated Weaver's father for a transaction that failed years ago, Weaver remembers him haunting his dad when he was just a child. Or Jonathan Wilde, the legendary criminal mastermind - apparently, this man really did exist. The Conspiracy of Paper is a well researched novel, it does an excellent job of portraying the London of the era, with it's wretched souls, liquor-fueled violence, anti-semetism, masked fetes, beggars, filths and stench, and everyone corrupt, from the hackney drivers to the judges. Perhaps Weaver should suspect Adelman, who dines at his uncle's house - or is he merely trying to marry Miriam, a lovely wealthy widow? It seems everyone is suspect, Weaver is always confronted by powerful men who know more than he does. His only ally is Elias, a foppish gentleman who is writing a play (and part time surgeon - he always advises Weaver that he will feel much better if only he would Elias bleed him a little.)