A group of players have arrived in Oxford. It is 1434 and they have
just presented a play at an inn when a young, well-dressed mentally
handicapped youth approaches them. He wants them to come to his place,
much to the dismay of his guardians. He has his way. When Basset,
leader of the players, meets the head of the household with Joliffe, one
of the players, Joliffe is sure that some unspoken message passes
between the two.
Because the household is hosting an upcoming
event, the group of players is welcomed to stay, as long as they provide
free entertainment and allow Lewis, the handicapped youth, to be one of
the players in a play to be presented to the household. It is the
morning following the presentation that the body of a man is found
outside the barn the players are lodged in.
As the group prepares
for their Corpus Christi play in Oxford, Joliffe is left wondering
about the future of the group and what secrets Basset holds. Later,
when hosting a gathering, the household is struck by food poisoning, and Lewis dies. Will fingers now point at the
actors? Joliffe has to find evidence pointing to the real culprit
quickly in order to help the crowner find the real culprit.
Author Margaret Frazer has provided the reader with an amusing, yet intense historical murder mystery with a surprising end.
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