The Pope needs war between England and France badly; peace has prevailed for far too long and a good war will put bums back on pews and money in the collection plate. Otherwise he'll need to make cutbacks and the Vatican Christmas party will have to go.Luckily his daring beautiful assassin is on the job. And what better time for the Edward King of England to die a horrible and painful death than when King Philipe of France is visiting. There's just a small problem: the plague has reached Europe and there's every chance it may get Edward first.The rats are coming and fleas are nibbling at English ankles. The King's vassal, Sir Walter, is on the case, but how can he stop the scourge with no idea of what's causing it? Could be the stinky French cheese? The Church blames fornication, or perhaps the fireball that burned through the London sky is to blame; or maybe it's the Dutch.It's a race against time with an array of colourful characters either plotting in dark corners or trying to save the day. Needless to say, pandemonium ensues and even without the plague, there an outbreak of weird stuff on the streets of London. Will any one live to see the end of the book or will the plague get them first?

Jonathan Forth spent thirty years writing reports for someone else, some of which he believes may still exist at the back of a dusty filing cabinet. A twist of fate allowed him to write for himself, resulting in Sir Humphrey's Last Stand, his debut novel (Matador, 2018).