Cambridge 1354. Christmas approaches & the town is gripped by the worst blizzards in living memory. As the physician Matthew Bartholomew struggles to help the poorer citizens cope with freezing temperatures his colleagues prepare for the festivities. The weather has trapped many travellers in the town including Matthews erstwhile love Philippa. She & her wealthy husband are invited to Michaelhouse for the main feast & Matthew is horrified that he does not immediately recognise the over-weight sulky woman who once stole his heart. In some ways he is relieved to accept Brother Michaels orders to identify a man found dead apparently from exposure in a nearby church but the success of his mission brings him closer to Philippas circle for the man was her husbands servant. & then the husband himself is dead victim of an accident on the treacherous ice of the fens
- or was it a more sinister death somehow linked to the death of one of his business rivals months earlier in London? Susanna Gregory again brings medieval Cambridge to rich & vibrant life in a beautifully crafted mystery.