At the behest of his powerful patron, Joliffe journeys to France to act as a servant to the widowed duchess Jacquetta of Bedford-while actually training in spycraft. But when a member of the duchess's household is murdered, Joliffe learns just how dangerous secrets can be...
In harvest time of 1436, Joliffe's troupe leader falls, leaving his players to find what work they can while he recovers. Joliffe finds work in a hospital where he unfortunately has to deal with Mistress Cisily Thorncoffyn, a widow expecting to be endlessly waited on for her mostly imaginary ailments. When patients begin mysteriously dying, Mistress Thorncoffyn loudly insists that someone is trying to kill her. With so many suspects wishing her ill, if not outright dead, Joliffe has no choice but to find out whose anger has turned to murderous hatred and whether-having missed their target-they mean to try again...
When his band of traveling players are taken in by a patron, Joliffe and company find that murder has taken their place in the spotlight—and it's up to them to catch a killer in the act.
Performing at the wedding of Sir Edmund Deneby's daughter, the player Joliffe has another task to perform—as a spy. As he uncovers the secrets of the Denebys' sordid history, it becomes clear that this wedding celebration is destined to end in tragedy.
In the pages of Margaret Frazer's national bestselling Dame Frevisse series, the player Joliffe has assumed many roles on stage, to the delight of those he entertains. Now, in the company of a troupe of traveling performers, he finds himself cast in the role of sleuth... In the spring of 1435, Joliffe and his fellow players are sent to the village of Ashewell not only to stage plays, but to uncover some dark secrets about the town’s three wealthy families: the Ashewells, the Medcotes, and the Gosyns. A rivalry has been brewing among the families, entangling the entire town in a web of seduction, deception, and blackmail.
