Smuggling and double-crossing have earned the wool traders dangerous enemies, and Owen finds himself at the centre of a complex web of rivalries. A mysterious hooded woman spotted at the scene of the murder is his only lead, a young boy his only witness, and when another death follows, Owen must look as far afield as London and Windsor for clues. Thoresby, preoccupied with the King and his ambitious new mistress, wants the murders solved as a matter of urgency, and the pressure on Owen builds up. Can he find the boy before the killers do - and can he prevent another death? His own household is plunged into danger, as they find themselves caught up in a plot devised by masters more powerful than they ever imagined ...
© William Heinemann 1994