London, 1377. The deaths of the Black Prince and Edward III leave the crown to the young Richard II, while great nobles, churchmen and wealthy merchants compete for influence around the new regime. In this unsettled atmosphere, the prosperous merchant Sir Thomas Springall is murdered inside his own household.
Sir John Cranston, coroner of London, is ordered to investigate and calls upon Brother Athelstan, a Dominican friar serving a poor Southwark parish. The inquiry draws them into the private rivalries of Springall’s family and the larger world of London commerce, where money and political connections can conceal motive as effectively as locked doors. Their partnership begins with a case that links domestic murder to the tensions surrounding a vulnerable young monarchy.
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