October 1262 should have been a quiet month, that melancholy time following the death of summer dedicated to the chores of readying Ludlow for the onset of winter and the hard months ahead. But the game of spies is afoot. A valuable list identifying the secret supporters of both King Henry and his rival for power Simon de Montfort has disappeared following the murder of Henry's master spy in the west of England. Whoever possesses that list obtains a significant advantage in the open war that is soon to break out between them.Stephen Attebrook, the part-time deputy coroner for northern Herefordshire, has been forced to find this list by his former master, the grasping and ambitious crown justice Ademar de Valence - projecting Attebrook into a cesspit of murder, intrigue and betrayal.Attebrook faces his greatest challenge as a discoverer of secrets as he races to obtain the list before a rival gets it first, while the life of someone close to him hangs on the outcome.Step through this time portal to13th century England and relive the sights, sounds and sensations of a lost world as they have never been depicted before.