Author(s): Sharon K. Penman

Fiction

As the Queen's Man, Justin de Quincy has one clear duty: to help Eleanor of Aquitaine preserve the throne of her missing son, Richard Lionheart, against Prince John's dangerous plotting. Yet for all the love and duty he bears Eleanor, Justin cannot tear his mind from the Welsh pedlar's carefree young daughter Melangell, brutally killed in a churchyard near Cripplegate.

Juggling the unsavoury alliances of court intrigue - especially Lady Claudine's charms and chicanery - with the cruder violence of London's stews and alleys, Justin becomes ever more determined to unmask Melangell's murderer. But can he do so without neglecting his royal duties? And can he bring justice to bear on either investigation?