Late summer days, jousting knights, a Jester in motley, and a performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?can the Renaissance Faire in St. Edmunds get any better? It's the perfect outing for everyone--until a second Jester shows up and murder joins the program.

The last thing Gillian Byrne sees herself doing is pretending to be a Fortune-Teller at the Faire, but it is either that or having to act in the play before an overly talkative audience. Everyone tells her she is ideal for the role of mystic and helps her decorate her tent with paranormal artifacts. With a Tarot deck and a crystal ball at the ready, her one thought is to make sure customers know she isn't for real.

While exploring booths at the Faire offering everything from ancient maps to herbal remedies, Gillian strikes up a conversation with a vendor dressed like a Renaissance merchant, selling mead and full of easy charm. When he turns up dead the next morning, strangled with a garrote, she can't let it go. A scrap of black and white motley near the body points to one of the Jesters?but is it really that simple? Rumors of a secret society within the Faire suggest the answer may run deeper.

Is there a killer with a dangerous agenda, working his way through a list? Gillian means to find out before he moves on to his next quarry.