1. The Spymaster
London, 1600. With the Anglo-Spanish War still unresolved, Robert Cecil calls on Martin Marbeck to identify a double agent who is passing English secrets to Spain. Marbeck is already under suspicion after a failed mission in Flanders, so finding the traitor known as Mulberry is also…
2. The King-in-Waiting
Spring 1603. Elizabeth I is dying without having publicly named an heir, and England prepares for the expected succession of James VI of Scotland. Robert Cecil fears that the transition may invite rebellion, religious unrest or foreign interference, but his experienced agent Martin Marbeck is himself…
3. Marbeck and the Privateers
Summer 1604. A Spanish delegation arrives in London to negotiate the peace that will end the long Anglo-Spanish War. James I wants the settlement to establish him as a peacemaker, but privateers, agents and powerful men who have profited from conflict have strong reasons to sabotage…
4. Marbeck and the Gunpowder Plot
England, 1605. Religious division remains acute under James I, and government spy Martin Marbeck is ordered to watch the Catholic gentleman Thomas Percy. The assignment becomes urgent when intelligence suggests that a spectacular attack may be directed against the king and Parliament, yet Marbeck has little…