Summer, 1545 England is at war Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr Asked to investigate claims of 'monstrous wrongs' committed against his young ward, Hugh Curteys, by Sir Nicholas Hobbey, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth There, Shardlake also intends to investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam