The novels main focus is the escalation of hostilities between Henry II and Thomas Becket. The secondary characters so prominent in the first book of the series, The Lion of England, take a back seat, and Eleanor is an unhappy wife we see little of. The point of view is mainly Thomas Becket's as he finds few supporters when he hardens his stance against the king's encroachment into ecclesiastical affairs. Seeking to flee England to gain support of the pope, he is obstructed by Henry's control of the ports, and returns to face continued humiliation before the nobles. Some of them easily take sides against the Archbishop and others are torn.

This is a good historical fiction about this famous friendship between king and commoner. Butler doesn't over-intellectualize the legal arguments. She focuses on the core church vs. state issues between Henry and Thomas, presenting both sides of an argument that destroyed a friendship. However, I missed the counterpoint of secondary characters of the Fitzurse family that is found in the first novel of the series, needed to alleviate the dry political material. Ms. Butler does little to carry their story forward leaving this second novel less well-rounded than the first. ( )