A love story and a road-trip novel, set against turbulent historical times. For fans of Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory, courtly rivalry and intrigue. A story of treachery, betrayal and love...
 
‘Thoroughly researched and told with brilliantly compelling authenticity. I loved it’ BARBARA ERSKINE

He is tasked with the most dangerous of missions. She is only there from duty. But in the face of treachery and injustice, might they need each other more than they could know…?
 
1613: Scotland and England, unified under one crown, are reeling from the sudden death of King James’ popular eldest son, Henry, as rumours swirl that the prince was poisoned. 
 
Andrew Logan, one of the King’s Messengers, is sent north with secret orders to find and arrest the man the king suspects. 
 
Phoebe Westaway cannot abide Andrew Logan. But when her ageing father is tasked with helping Logan, Phoebe finds herself with no choice but to join them in their quest to capture Sir David Moray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courtier, and carry him to London to stand trial for the prince’s murder.
 
It’s a journey rife with complications. Sir David has no intention of allowing himself to be delivered to London, and as he draws them deeper into the dark web of court alliances and rivalries, Phoebe realises she might have more need of Logan than she believes.

‘I loved the story. Couldn’t put it down. It was thoroughly researched and told with brilliantly compelling authenticity’  -- Barbara Erskine
Praise for Susanna Kearsley: 

‘I’ve loved every one of Susanna’s books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly’s delicate touch with characters - historical fiction that pulls you in and won’t let go!’ Diana Gabaldon 

‘Kearsley has a poetic sensibility and a sense of mystery; she could write the modern Rebecca.’ The Bookseller 

‘Evocative and romantic’ Nicola Cornick

‘Sometimes an author catches lightning in a bottle, and Susanna Kearsley does just that’
New York Journal of Books

‘A deeply engaging romance and a compelling historical novel…Susanna Kearsley has written a marvellous book.’ Bernard Cornwell

‘One of Canada’s best historical fiction writers’ The Globe and Mail

‘Kearsley is nothing less than a magician weaving together the past and the present… utterly unputdownable’ M J Rose

‘A master storyteller’ Leslie Howard

New York Times, USA TODAY, and Globe and Mail bestselling author Susanna Kearsley is a former museum curator who loves restoring the lost voices of real people to the page, often in multi-stranded stories that interweave present and past. Her award-winning novels are published in translation in more than twenty-five countries. She lives near Toronto. Susanna is Diana Gabaldon meets Barbara Erskine for a primarily female readership and fans of historical, general literary fiction, light suspense and time slip. Visit her website SusannaKearsley.com, or follow her on X @SusannaKearsley or Instagram @susanna.kearsley