In a country at war, a secret inheritance reveals a dark conspiracy ...
On a sunlit afternoon in seventeenth-century Dorset, a young girl falls in love with a stranger.
But when her Puritan brother tries to force her into an unbearable marriage she flees, taking with her only the gift left to her by her unknown father, a gold pendant sealed by an engraving of an axe, and the words: St Matthew.
One of four intricately wrought seals – each holding a secret within – it can, when combined with the other three, bring great wealth and power. This power is her true inheritance – but it’s a perilous legacy others will kill for ...
Bernard Cornwell was born in London, raised in Essex and now lives in the USA. In addition to the Sharpe series, he is the author of the Arthurian series, the Warlord Chronicles; the Starbuck Chronicles on the American Civil War; Stonehenge; Gallows Thief; the Grail Quest series; and his new series, set during the reign of King Alfred. His latest novel is Azincourt.