Volume 5 in the Shardlake series.

After Henry VIII invades France in 1545, England is at war and on the brink of economic ruin. As the King gathers the largest militia the country has ever seen, Matthew Shardlake is investigating a case for an old servant of Henry’s wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Travelling down to Portsmouth, Shardlake and Barak look into the ill-treatment of a young ward of the court and the case of another young woman who died in mysterious circumstances two decades prior. When their investigations lead them to the ship at the heart of the war preparations, Shardlake finds himself face-to-face with both an old friend and an old enemy.