1660 and the Stuarts are restored to the throne. Despite initially pardoning many supporters of the Commonwealth, Charles II is hellbent on revenge against those who signed his father's death warrant. Also on this list is the name of Damian Seeker, falsely accused of being the axeman by L'Estrange, someone he had thwarted in the past. Seeker is in New England but his whereabouts are known by his daughter Manon and her husband, now living in York. Anne Winter meanwhile is charged to go to York to reassure L'Estrange of the innocence or guilt of another of his enemies and she stumbles across the plot to find Seeker.
I have loved the Seeker novels to date and was sad that the last one appeared to be the finale however Maclean has produced a story which is in essence a Seeker tale but one in which he only appears fleetingly at the end. Here the focus is on those left behind and it's a great tale. Set in a familiarly wintery York and introducing a cast of new additions, the story develops the characters of Faithly, Ingolby and Anne Winter in new directions. Just great historical fiction. ( )