Political unrest permeates York at the cusp of the fifteenth century, as warring factions take sides on who should be the rightful king: Richard II or his powerful cousin in exile, Henry Bolingbroke. Kate Clifford is struggling to dig out from beneath the debt left by her late husband, and determined to establish her independence in a male dominated society. She turns one of her properties into a guest house, and also quietly rents the discreet bedchambers to wealthy merchants of York for nights with their mistresses. When the brutal murder of a guest and the disappearance of his companion threatens all she has built, Kate must use all her skills to save herself from ruin.