The enthralling story of Thomas Hope, who counselled three kings through a tumultuous time in Scottish history. The son of an Edinburgh merchant, Hope had a spectacular beginning to his career--at the age of seventeen, he travelled to France to triumph in his first court case and caught the attention of his young king, James VI. It was the beginning of a life at the heart of the government of Scotland. From James VI and I to Cromwell, from John Knox to Montrose, Lord Advocate Hope was a rock in a fast-changing world. He witnessed the reigns of Charles I and Charles II, the founding of the East India Company, affairs of state and affairs of the heart, and matters political and diplomatic.