1588. In Lisbon the great Spanish Armada prepares to set sail for Engl&. Along the coast of the Low Countries, the army of the Duke of Parma readies itself for embarkation. Threat is imminent. Yet behind it is a darker & more secretive game, one of espionage & murder, of treachery & deceit. The stiletto-blade to the back, the poison in the chalice, the tortuerer's rack in the dungeon. This is the realm of the spy. & at its heart is the legendary Elizabethan spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. One-by-one his intelligence sources vanish, day-by-day the danger to his queen & country grows. Finally, he sends the young soldier & agent Christian Hardy to discover the truth. But to reach it, Hardy must confront the deadliest of foes, the Spanish Inquisition, turncoats among his own, & the might of the enemy fleet. Time is running out. For Hardy, for Engl&, for its sovereign queen Elizabeth...