Winter 1666. With England now at war against the French and Danes, as well as the Dutch, Matthew Quinton is entrusted with an important voyage to Sweden, to bring home a vital mast convoy. But unknown to him, his mysterious passenger has a very different mission, one that involves the notorious regicide John, Lord Bale, the only peer to sign the death warrant of King Charles I. Their destination, Gothenburg, proves to be a hotbed of dangerously conflicting loyalties, and Quinton and his men find themselves needing help from the most unexpected quarters as they battle enemies old and new in unfamiliar surroundings, and ultimately on the high seas.