In 1312 Hugh Corbett returns to Westminster to find Edward II fleeing baronial anger over Peter Gaveston and a royal clerk poisoned inside a locked chamber. The enquiry soon extends to the convent of Saint Sulpice, where young novices have disappeared. Corbett discovers that the deaths and disappearances belong to the same network of secrecy and exploitation.
The trail leads through Westminster, a wealthy brothel and the criminal organisation surrounding its formidable owner, Mother Midnight. Corbett, Ranulf and Chanson face hired killers and a formal challenge to combat while the king’s government loses authority. The mystery exposes the ways court disorder allows private violence to flourish in the capital.