As England's young king struggles with illness, one of his advisors is poisoned. Elizabeth Tudor, fearing her brother was the target, asks her old friend Simon Maldon to investigate the crime.

With the help of his fiancee, Hannah, Simon, now an apothecary's apprentice, braves the corridors of power to protect the king. In the days after the first murder, a knight, a baron, and a serving girl also die in mysterious circumstances, but it is unclear how their deaths benefit any of the possible suspects.

In order to find out, Simon employs various (sometimes embarrassing) disguises, and Hannah uses her position as Elizabeth s newest chambermaid. As the crimes multiply, the danger they face grows. In the end, Elizabeth herself is accused of the murders. To save the princess he admires, Simon faces a fight for his life against a wickedly clever adversary who will not be caught.

This fast-paced historical will delight mystery lovers, Tudor admirers, and all who love a whodunit with (to quote one critic) "panache."

Genre: Historical Mystery