The Crown in Darkness

ALEXANDER III OF SCOTLAND was riding to meet his beautiful French bride Yolande one dark, storm-ridden night when he fell to his death. He left the Scottish throne vacant of any real heir, though the powerful nobles of his own kingdom, as well as the great European princes, immediately started to fight for the glittering prize.

Hugh Corbett, a clerk in the English Chancery, is sent to Scotland by his old master, the Chancellor, Bishop Burnell, to discover the truth behind Alexander's death and report on the chaotic situation at the Scottish court. Corbett is drawn into malevolent intrigue, suspicion -- and danger -- before truth and lies are separated, and the mystery solved.