Sergeant Dodd and Sir Robert Carey are still in London, but Carey knows he must return to Carlisle as the raiding season is about to begin. Before he can leave, he is waylaid by his powerful father, Henry, Lord Hunsdon, and ordered to solve a mystery surrounding a body found in the Thames. And as much as Dodd hates London, he desires vengeance for his mistreatment by the Queen's Vice Chamberlain, Thomas Heneage, and hires a mysterious young lawyer named James Enys to help him do so. To complicate matters further, Carey's mother arrives in town and chaos ensues.