MEDIEVAL MYSTERY: On a remote East Anglian coast stands Tyndal Priory, which belongs to the Order of Fontevraud where monks and nuns live and work in close proximity. Prioress Eleanor of Wynethorpe, young and inexperienced, has just been controversially appointed by King Henry III.

TYRANT OF THE MIND: Winter, 1271. The shadow of death falls over Castle Wynethorpe on the Welsh border. Eleanor's nephew's life hangs in the balance, and she is summoned home tend him with prayers and healing talents. But death will not be denied. The chill that pervades the castle stems not just from the bitter winter besieging it, but also from the murderous tensions that afflict its occupants. Soon after Eleanor arrives, her brother, bloody dagger in hand, is found standing over the corpse of his oldest friend.

Unable to believe that her brother is a murderer, Eleanor sets out to prove his innocence before he meets his fate on the hangman's gibbet.