Michael Jecks

On their return home from their pilgrimage, Baldwin and Simon's ship is attacked off the coast of the Scilly Isles by pirates and storms and Simon looks on in horror as Baldwin is swept overboard. Washed ashore on the tiny island of Ennor, Simon is distraught to think that his closest friend is dead, but he has to put aside his grief when the master of the castle, Ranulph de Blancminster, orders him to investigate the murder of the island's tax gatherer. Ranulph is convinced that one of the the lawless inhabitants of the neighbouring island of St Nicholas is the culprit and prepares to attack. Meanwhile Baldwin himself has been washed up on St Nicholas and is nursed back to health by the beautiful Tedia. He uncovers a different picture of the island as he too begins to investigate the murder. Although there are plenty of suspects, Baldwin finds it impossible to penetrate the tight network of secrets and loyalties that bind the villagers in this isolated community. As Balwin and Simon's parallel investigations bring them closer to the truth, they become embroiled in the bitter rivalry between the two island communities. Can they uncover the truth in time to prevent a massacre?

Sir Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock have been granted leave to go on pilgrimage, both seeking solace after the recent, traumatic events in Gidleigh. Together they travel across Europe to Santiago de Compostela but, as usual, danger is never far away. A beautiful young girl is found raped and murdered on a hillside. Baldwin and Simon lend their investigative skills to the local enquiry, but the unexpected appearance of a face from Baldwin's past threatens both the investigation and Baldwin's very future.

Alone in his isolated, windswept chapel on the edge of Dartmoor, who could blame the young priest, Mark, for seeking affection from the local miller's daughter, Mary? But when Mary's body is found brutally stabbed, Mark is the obvious suspect, and the discovery that she was pregnant seems to confirm his guilt. Called in to investigate, Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock soon begin to have their doubts. Could it not have been one of Mary's many admirers who murdered her in a fit of jealousy? Or her father, the miller, who is acting in an increasingly disturbed manner? And what exactly is the local Baron trying to hide? Will they be able to find the murderer before he strikes again?