"It's...the Machiavellian intrigue that makes this such an enjoyable
read. When the iron curtain came down people said the spy-thriller genre
was dead. They were wrong. This is as full of intrigue as a Deighton or
a Le Carré." --THE GUARDIAN
Winter in the year of our Lord 1372. A river pilot falls into the icy
waters of the River Ouse during a skirmish between dockworkers and the
boys of the minster school, which include Owen Archer's adopted son
Jasper. But what began as a confrontation to return a boy's stolen scrip
becomes a murder investigation as the rescuers find the pilot dying of
wounds inflicted before his plunge into the river. When another body is
fished from the river upstream and Owen discovers that the boy Jasper
sought to help has disappeared, Owen Archer convinces the archbishop
that he must go in search of the boy. His lost scrip seems to hold the
key to the double tragedy, but his disappearance leaves troubling
questions: did he flee in fear? Or was he abducted?
On the cusp of this new mystery, Owen accepts Jasper's offer to
accompany him to the boy's home in the countryside, where they learn
that a valuable cross has gone missing. A devastating fire and another
drowning force Owen to make impossible choices, endangering not only
himself, but the two innocents he fights to protect. The bond between
fathers and sons proves strong, even between those not linked by blood
