In the tradition of Ellis Peters A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues Besides his practice Bartholomew is teacher of Medicine at Michaelhouse part of the fledgling University of Cambridge In 1348 the inhabitants of Cambridge live under the shadow of a terrible pestilence that has ravaged Europe & is travelling relentlessly eastward towards England Bartholomew however is distracted by the sudden & inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse
- a death the University authorities do not want investigated When three more scholars die in mysterious circumstances Bartholomew defies the University & begins his own enquiry His pursuit for the truth leads him into a complex tangle of lies & intrigue that causes him to question the innocence of his closest friends & even his family & then the Black Death finally arrives & Bartholomew is dragged deeper & deeper into a quagmire which threatens not only his life but the continued existence of the University & the future of the town