March 1557. Jack Blackjack is back in London and enjoying a sedentary life. After his treacherous voyage back to his beloved city the previous year, he desires nothing more than women, wine, beer and more women. But his new parish of St Helen's has different ideas for him . . . A week after first laying eyes on the tempting Miss Rachel Nailor, she turns up dead on the church vestry floor . . . and someone is trying to frame him for her murder! Rachel was a woman with many secrets. But was she murdered in a fit of lustful rage, or was it part of a wider political play? Who would want Rachel dead - and Jack hanged for it? With his master breathing down his neck, and old foes crawling out of the woodwork, Jack has never been in more danger!