Working in the dark shadows of Elizabeth I's glory, the spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham protects his queen with plots, entrapment and torture. When Kit is forced into Walsingham's service, he is horrified at what he sees. Can he work in Walsingham's police state and live with himself? And what will happen if Walsingham ceases to protect him? Some secrets are deadly...

Deborah Chancellor is a children's writer of fiction and non-fiction. She has written extensively for a variety of publishers, and has been translated into several languages. To date, Deborah has written over seventy children's books. She enjoys the challenge of communicating complex material in a clear and inspiring way, for a new generation of readers. Deborah trained as a primary teacher before becoming a children's book editor at Dorling Kindersley. Now a full-time writer, she has spoken at book festivals, and held workshops at school literacy events. She lives near Cambridge with her husband and three children.