Cambridge, February 1355, and as the worst snows in living memory begin to melt, a long frozen body is revealed . . .
As the temperature gradually rises in the Fenland town, the passions of its citizens also emerge from the winter chill. A skeletal hand has become an object of veneration, viewed by some as a holy relic and capable of curing all ills, but thought by others to have once belonged to a local simpleton. Two well-born citizens who had been convicted of murder have received the King's pardon and have now returned to Cambridge, showing no remorse for their actions but ready to confront those who helped convict them.
With her immaculate research and sense of place, Susanna Gregory has again created a wholly believable drama peopled with larger than life characters, and containing a puzzling murder mystery which intrigues and teases the reader until its ultimately satisfying conclusion.
