England, September 1642.
The King has raised his standard in Nottingham to summon those loyal to the crown to fight for him against his own Parliament.
Gideon Lennox, an idealistic young lawyer from London, is in County Durham being paid to find a man and deliver a message. Having failed in the task that originally brought him north, Gideon needs to prove himself.
The man he seeks is the traitor Philip Lord, a notorious mercenary commander, with a reputation for brutality gained in the wars raging across Europe. When Gideon encounters Lord, he is abducted and set to investigate strange happenings in a Weardale village.
As he attempts to uncover the truth behind accusations of witchcraft – and the murder of the witchfinder in Pethridge – the lawyer is faced with more questions than answers.
He is convinced that Lord must somehow be involved until a gory discovery proves to him that whoever might be behind the strange events, it is not the accused women – or Lord.
Just as Gideon begins to realise that more than one shadowy hand is moving the pieces in the dangerous game being played out in Pethridge, he is seized and accused of the murder himself.
The lawyer must somehow escape – or become a victim of the conspiracy he needs to bring to light.
Eleanor Swift-Hook 