In a remote English manor house, modern admirersof the much-maligned King Richard III-one of Shakespeare's most extraordinary villains-are gathered for a grand weekend of dress-up and make-believe murder. But the fun ends when the masquerade turns more sinister... and deadly. Jacqueline Kirby, an American librarian on hand for the festivities, suddenly finds herself in the center of strange, dark doings... and racing to untangle a murderous puzzle before history repeats itself in exceptionally macabre ways.