The Devil's Hunt

IN THE GOLDEN SUMMER OF 1303, the severed heads of beggars - are found, tied by their hair, to the trees in the woods outside Oxford. In the city itself John Copsale, Regent of Sparrow Hall, has been found dead in his bed. Some claim he died in his sleep, others whisper that he was murdered by the mysterious 'Bell Man'. Then the college librarian and archivist, Robert Ascham, is discovered with a crossbow bolt in his chest. What was he trying to write on a piece of manuscript found lying beside him? Are the Regent's death and Ascham's murder the result of a terrible curse of ghosts who still walk seeking vengeance? And who is the Bell Man -- that mysterious, anonymous writer who posts treasonous bills and letters on church doors all over the city?

King Edward, hearing of the seething unrest in Oxford, arrives unannounced at Sir Hugh Corbett's country manor, and insists that Sir Hugh go to Oxford to resolve the murderous mysteries which threaten to plunge the city -- and university -- into chaos. And when the King commands, few can resist, even if it means knowingly entering a dangerous and violent world...