WAR AND FAMINE DEVASTATE EUROPE.
PIRACY AND SLAVERY ARE SPREADING.
ENGLAND IS DIVIDED.
A desperate King James clings to hope for an alliance by marriage with mighty Spain while aiding his daughter, Elizabeth of Bohemia, and her protestant allies as they battle the Hapsburg Spanish and Holy Roman Empire. The Lord Inquirer, Sir Robert Curtis, witnesses the murder of a Spanish envoy at the gala opening of King James’ magnificent new palace Banqueting House. Sent to recall the Spanish Ambassador, the young envoy’s body is spirited back to Spain without protest. The French foreign minister leads a delegation opposing the Spanish alliance. He arrives with a ruthless protégé’ of Cardinal Richelieu, a mysterious Basque assassin, a sultry woman and her court of courtesans. English nobles join the foreign campaign in the English court. The King’s favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, leads the Prince of Wales on a foolish campaign to win the hand of the Spanish Infanta. The murder of the envoy is only the first act of a new war of intrigue in the English court. Old conspirators will re-emerge and find new allies. Sir Robert must thwart the threats to his aging sovereign. But when Robert’s wife, the lovely Lady Eleanor, is identified in an attempt on the life of Buckingham, the plot becomes personal.
