Rory Clements

England may have survived the Armada threat of 1588, but when Spanish galleys land troops in Cornwall on a lightning raid seven years later, is it a dry-run for a new invasion? As John Shakespeare tries to get a grip on events, England's secret defences begin to unravel as one by one his network of spies is horribly murdered.

In London a conspiracy is brewing to assassinate Elizabeth, free Mary Queen of Scots - and open England to Spanish invasion. But the conspirators have been infiltrated by Sir Francis Walsingham's top intelligencer, John Shakespeare. In a desperate race against time he must save the realm from treachery close to the seat of power . . .

Tensions in Elizabeth I's government are at breaking point. At the eye of the storm is John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham. When a plot to assassinate England's 'sea dragon', Francis Drake is revealed, Shakespeare is ordered to protect him. If he dies, England will be open to invasion.

Spring 1593. Elizabeth's Golden Age is truly tarnished. While investigating a wave of horrific bombing attacks on the Dutch immigrant community John Shakespeare uncovers intricate layers of mystery and deception that threaten the heart not only of the realm, but of all that he holds dear.

It is 1582, and the conflict between Protestant and Catholic threatens to tear the country in two. On his first major mission for Sir Francis Walsingham, the young John Shakespeare is ordered to discover a conspiracy to free the Stuart queen, Mary, from Sheffield Castle.

1592. England and Spain are at war, yet there is peril at home, too. The death of her trusted spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham has left Queen Elizabeth vulnerable. The quiet life of John Shakespeare is shattered by a summons insisitng that he re-enter government service. His mission: to find vital papers, now in the possession of the Earl of Essex.

The Elizabethan navy has a secret weapon: an optical instrument so powerful it gives England unassailable superiority at sea. Spain will stop at nothing to steal it. Meanwhile John Shakespeare attempts to untangle a plot that points to treachery at the very highest reaches of government, but he also faces serious accusations far closer to home.