It is England in the year 1537, and Thomas Cromwell is Henry VIII's vicar-general and in the process of dissolving all of the large monastic houses, granting the land to his favorites or the highest bidders. When one of his commissioners is murdered at the monastery in Scarnsea, Cromwell sends the hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake and Mark, his young assistant, to solve the mystery. They find that not only has the murder been covered up but also other murders have been covered up as well, and they also find treasonous monks hostile to the king and his assumption of the role of head of the English church. As Shardlake uncovers more unsettling facts, he realizes that his own life is in danger--and solving the mystery takes on a life-or-death importance.