In 1653 Luke and his deputy Harry are sent to Paris to negotiate secretly with the exiled king. they are separated and pursue independent investigations. Harry, who reaches the royal court

attempts to solve the murders of two ladies-in-waiting, while a disabled Luke investigates the death of an aristocrat's wife.

The investigations are complicated by a feisty abbess, hysterical nuns, an unscrupulous courtier, a Canadian adventurer and a rampaging bear. The search for English Catholic treasure focusses everybody's attention.