Love, loyalty, betrayal, and murder in the reign of King Charles I

IRELAND, 1635: Out of money, out of options, and with a young daughter to feed, Faolan Burke must accept an unwanted task. He must travel to Dublin to spy on Thomas Wentworth, the ruthless Lord Deputy who rules Ireland with an iron fist. Wentworth plans to transform clan lands into English Protestant plantations, leaving Irish families homeless. To stop him, Faolan must discover misdeeds that could force King Charles to recall Wentworth to England.

Leaving his young daughter Elvy in the care of his best friend Aengus, Faolan works as a porter in Dublin Castle, and aligns with the alluring Denisa, Wentworth’s personal assistant. She, too, spies on Wentworth, but for very personal reasons.

While Faolan knows he should hate Wentworth, he admires his prosecution of pirates and corrupt nobles who prey on Irish merchants. Supremely arrogant and cruel to his enemies, Wentworth shows loyalty, warmth and compassion for family, friends and a few select others.

A common mission takes Faolan and Denisa from Dublin to London and Hampton Court; to York and Scotland; and to the highest levels of court intrigue and power. But secrets, fears, war and betrayal threaten their love–and even their lives. And as Wentworth’s power grows, so grow the deadly plans of his most treacherous and driven enemies.