Spring, 1312. At Malmaison Manor, Lord Simon is concealing a dark secret - one he arrogantly assumes will never catch up with him.

But someone knows about the crime he committed and they've found a way to make him pay. And he's not alone. When he is found mysteriously slain, other deaths soon follow.

Meanwhile, ships on the Devonshire coast are being deliberately wrecked, their crews slaughtered, their cargoes plundered. Sir Hugh Corbett and Lord Simon are bound by the Secret Chancery and their search for one precious ruby - the Lacrima Christi. So, when Corbett learns of Lord Simon's death, he is once more dragged into a tangled web of lies and intrigue and it's not long before secrets of his own start to surface.

As the Hymn to Murder reaches its crescendo, can Corbett confront his past and live to see another day?