- Epiphany, 1193. Eleanor of Aquitaine sits upon England"s throne. Her beloved son Richard Lionheart is missing, presumed dead - and the court whispers that her younger son, John, is plotting to seize the crown. Meanwhile, on the snowy highroad from Winchester, a destitute young man falls heir to a blood stained letter, pressed into his hand by a dying man. The missive becomes Justin de Quincy"s passport into the queen"s confidence - and into the heart of danger, as he pursues a cunning murderer and jousts with secret traitors in Eleanor"s court of intrigue and mystery...