In 1384 England, seventeen-year-old Evangeline, ward and cousin of King Richard II, tries to escape from an arranged marriage, dreaming of a life outside Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics, but when she runs away and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village, she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarch.

"November, 1381. London has been rocked by a series of bizarre and brutal murders. The corpses of a number of prostitutes have been discovered, their throats slit, their bodies stripped; in each case, a blood-red wig has been placed on their heads. At the same time, a mysterious explosion rips through a royal war cog bound for Calais, killing all on board. Could there be a connection? Summoned to assist in the investigations by Sir John Cranston,...