Midsummer 1195. In the Great Wealden Forest, an ambitious man burdened by debt believes he has discovered a way to transform his fortunes. His difficulties have been sharpened by the contribution demanded towards King Richard’s ransom and by a marriage built on deception, but his apparent stroke of luck ends when he is found dead.
Sir Josse d’Acquin and Abbess Helewise investigate among forest settlements where land, money, marriage and older beliefs are tightly entangled. The case shows the continuing social cost of the royal ransom after Richard I’s return and sets a violent private struggle against the distinctive economy and folklore of the medieval Weald.
