A corpse in Crispin Guest’s favourite tavern proves to be connected with a Templar knight and a missing sacred object, even though the order of the Temple had been suppressed decades earlier. Before Crispin can establish what the dead man was protecting, he is abducted by men linked to the French antipope and pulled into a dispute that reaches far beyond one London murder. The case also introduces Jack Tucker, a young cutpurse whose persistence begins the partnership that will shape the rest of Crispin’s life.
Published seventh but set before Veil of Lies, the novel returns to Crispin’s earliest years as the Tracker during Richard II’s reign. The memory of the Templars, papal division and the trade in relics give the mystery an international religious background, while the taverns and alleys of London keep the investigation local and physical. The prequel is particularly important for the series because it shows how a disgraced knight begins to reconstruct an identity based not on land or title but on investigation, loyalty and the informal household he forms with Jack.
