Spring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whilst the Protestant faction at court watch keenly. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy who has been placed in the Bedlam insane asylum. When an old friend is horrifically murdered, Shardlake vows to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to Cranmer and Catherine Parr - and to the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation.