"[An] engrossing tale...imbued with the flavor of English medieval
life, Robb's story melds true events with fiction to create a gripping
historical mystery." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Based on an enigmatic entry in the records of Clementhorpe Nunnery, this
authentic, gripping mystery conjures a 14th century ripe with forbidden
passions and political intrigue.
When young nun Joanna Calverley dies of a fever in the town of Beverley
in the summer of 1365, she is buried quickly for fear of the plague. But
a year later, Archbishop Thoresby learns of a woman who has arrived in
York claiming to be the resurrected nun, talking of relic-trading and
miracles. And death seems to ride in her wake.
The archbishop sends Owen Archer to retrace the woman's journey, an
investigation that leads him across the north from Leeds to Beverley to
Scarborough. Along the way he encounters Geoffrey Chaucer, a spy for the
king of England, who believes there is a connection between the nun's
troubles, renegade mercenaries, and the powerful Percy family. Back in
York, however, Owen's wife Lucie, pregnant with their first child, has
won the confidence of the mysterious nun and realizes that there are
secrets hidden in the woman's seemingly mad ramblings...