Nick Talbot, Lord Rokesby, is married to Rosalyne on the instruction of the ailing Queen Elizabeth. They and their two sons ride hard for Scotland to avoid the trouble brewing at Court as the need for a succession plan becomes urgent. Christopher Marlowe is with the Talbots in Scotland - high on the success of his Hamlet - the first of his plays produced under the pretender Will Shakespeare's name. In this third swashbuckling Nick Talbot adventure, Nick and Rosalyne find themselves dragged into a game for power that could endanger all that they hold dear.