It is 1325 and there is turmoil in England, but the Prophecy of St. Thomas's Holy Oil just might save King Edward II. It is believed that the king who is anointed with the oil will be a lion among men: he will conquer France, unite Christendom, and throw the heathens from the Holy Land. Edward’s reputation has been sullied following his rejection of his wife—Queen Isabella—after which he confiscated her income, exiled her servants, and took away her children. Having escaped her husband and traveled to France, Isabella attempts to negotiate peace with her brother, King Charles IV. Meanwhile, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock return from France with an urgent instruction for the King. Before long Baldwin and Simon find themselves at the center of a deadly court intrigue involving the most powerful and ruthless men in the country who will stop at nothing—not the least murder—to achieve their ambitions.