With over 1 million copies sold, Andrew Taylor is the Sunday Timesbestselling author of The Ashes of London. This is the best of gripping, exquisitely researched historical crime fiction, perfect for fans of CJ Sansom, Robert Harris and Hilary Mantel.

England, 1688. A deadly conspiracy. A crown under threat.

King James II finally has a newborn heir, but across the country rebellion is stirring. Rumours fly about the child's legitimacy. And strange symbols of an upside-down crown appear on the streets of London.

Amidst the turmoil, Whitehall official James Marwood and his wife Cat, an architect navigating a man's world, have built a precarious life for their three children. But when a dead body is discovered and a treasonous pamphlet begins to circulate, they are all hooked into a dangerous conspiracy.

Who is risking everything to paint sedition across London's walls? What secrets are being killed over, and what lies spread? In the face of a deadly plot, does survival matter more than the fate of crown and country?

'A grand piece of work - a triumph and one of Taylor's best' MICK HERRON

'A wonderful, subtle novel, set in a strange, enclosed world. Beautiful writing and a gloriously satisfying ending' ANN CLEEVES

'A Schooling in Murderturns the country house mystery inside out with wit and wisdom. Ten out of ten' THE TIMES

'Taylor's position at the apex of historical crime writers is reinforced' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Taylor's ability to conjure time past is second to none' GUARDIAN