An intriguing medieval mystery featuring Brother Athelstan
February, 1381. London lies frozen in the grip of one of the bitterest
winters on record. The ever-rising taxes demanded by the Regent, John of
Gaunt, are causing increasing resentment among the city's poor. When the
seething unrest boils over into a bloody massacre at a splendid
Southwark tavern, The Candle Flame, in which nine people, including
Gaunt's tax collectors, their military escort and the prostitutes
entertaining them, are brutally murdered, the furious Regent orders
Brother Athelstan to get to the bottom of the matter.
For not only has Gaunt's treasure trove been stolen, he has reason to
believe a French spy is active along the Thames, carefully recording for
his masters in the Louvre the state of English war cogs. And a
professional assassin, Beowulf, who has sworn vengeance against Gaunt
and his minions, also stalks the shadows. Once again, Athelstan must
enter the murky world of murder, where the darkness constantly shifts
and no one is who or what they seem.