A vicious rivalry threatens to cause chaos for Lord Westfield's Men when
the onstage duels between Owen Elias and Sebastian Carrick become ever
more realistic. However, it is an axe that splits open Sebastian's head
one night in a Clerkenwell alley.
Company book holder Nicholas Bracewell, accustomed to damage control,
begins to investigate the victim's death and learns that in life, he was
prone to make enemies from his weakness for women and his unwillingness
to settle his debts. A web of deception has in fact been spun that
stretches from lowly to high ranking courtesans, all the way to the
Virgin Queen.