It's January 1325 and England is a hotbed of paranoia under the reign of the increasingly unpredictable King Edward II and his lover, Sir Hugh le Despenser. When the Queen's lady-in-waiting is slaughtered and the hideously mutilated body of a man is found behind the throne, Edward demands to be avenged. Despenser appoints experienced investigator Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, to track down the killer. In an age of corruption—where torture, blackmail, and murder are common political tools—Baldwin and Simon soon realize that uncovering the truth can be a deadly affair.