Lord Hugh de Courtenay's plan to host a tournament in the spring of 1322 is a golden opportunity for the money-lenders of Oakhampton. When the defeated knights find themselves unable to pay the traditional ransoms to their captors, they will have only one avenue open to them, no matter how much they hate it - the money-lenders. But for Benjamin Dudenay - to whom so many of the knights of Devon are indebted - the tournament will yield no such riches. A month before the festivities, he is found beaten to death.
For Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock, the priority is to complete the preparations for the tournament in time for Lord Hugh's arrival. But when Wymond Carpenter, commissioned to build the stands, is found dead, his injuries identical to Benjamin's, Sir Baldwin and Simon are faced with an additional problem: whoever killed the money-lender is not simply a debtor desperate to gain financial freedom, but a killer with a far greater and more sinister plan . . .
