Even an assassin must go home for Christmas. Sophia del Morte, skilled spy-for-hire, now faces the most formidable of opponents: family. It is the closing of the year, after all; and the lethal Italian beauty returns to her home village for wine, food, and memories. As this is the del Morte family, Sophia tries to brace herself for awkward talk at the dinner table, and perhaps a touch of intrigue. Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the steampunk world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.