The Monsarrat series, from legendary father/daughter writing team Tom and Meg Keneally, takes the reader back to early colonial Australia. The series follows a ticket of leave man; Hugh Llewelyn Monsarrat. Transported to the colonies for forgery, he has served his time but is not free to go about his life. Monserrat is instead indentured as an investigator, solving some of the most heinous crimes in the colony.

Monsarrat is assisted in his work by seemingly innocuous domestic servant Hannah Mulrooney. Together they are able to access across levels in society to solve crimes.

The Ink Stain is the latest in the series and sees Monsarrat and Mulrooney in Sydney investigating the killing of a newspaper editor, Henry Hallward.