The country of the bard is a perilous place at the turn of the 17th century. Ned, the beggar, is found dead in the stocks, a knife embedded in his back. There is a resurgence of witchcraft throughout the region, and the church is robbed and desecrated. The witchfinder, nemesis of innocent peasants, reknowned for torture and death, is summoned. The tally of scapegoats mounts as the purge begins.
But the Lord Lieutenent suspects that the evil is within his own administration, that corruption spawns murder throughout his domain. The only man he can trust is Guy Kent. He assigns Kent, an undercover investigator whose life is constantly at risk from those he hunts, the task of seeking out the culprits.
Who killed Old Ned, the deafmute, and why? The moonmen who were accused of robbing the church and subsequently hanged? Satanic worshippers? Roaming bands of gypsies? Or did the murder have a much more insidious motive? Kent must find the answers to these questions and bring the culprits to justice...if he can survive the dangers that are closing in on him...
