| Synopsis: |
1558 was a year of sinister and bloody conspiracy in England. Deserted by her husband, Philip of Spain, Queen Mary faces an ever-tightening circle of conspiracy and deceit. Rumours and whispers abound that she, like her first minister Reginald Cardinal Pole, is being slowly murdered by a subtle poison. There are many who would benefit from Mary's death: Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France and `Mistress of the Poisons'; beautiful Mary, Queen of Scots, heiress presumptive to the throne in the eyes of English Catholics; Pope Paul IV surveys the silken threads of treachery from his perch in Rome; and the Queen's own half-sister, Elizabeth, who takes council from her `little wizard' William Cecil. Who is behind the letters signed by the `Four Evangelists'? What is the secret concealed in the phrase `Mark 15.34'? What does a verse from the Gospels predict about the future succession of England? Nicholas Segalla, a mysterious scholar and diplomat, must thread his way through this web of Byzantine intrigue. |