Fire

1666 and London is a tinderbox - in more ways than one.  Also, the 666 is the sign of the devil.

Thief-taker Pitman and his helper William Coke have been tasked with stopping a proposed assassination of the king.  Fortunately they are able to thwart a bombing of the king at the theatre.  However, before they can apprehend the bomber, someone stabs him to death.

Later, Pitman and Coke have the conspirators trapped.  Unfortunately they manage to escape and in the process, Pitman is severely wounded in the thigh.  The following day was Coke's wedding day.  After the wedding a good friend came to Coke telling him that his daughter had been kidnapped.  He provides Coke with the money demanded for her release.  What could Coke do, but oblige.

Arriving to meet the kidnappers, Coke's drink is spiked, and he is placed in a compromising situation with the girl.  His new wife is brought to the scene also.  How will he get out of this?  He is taken by a press gang.

While Coke is missing, his wife Sarah, is incarcerated in a debtors prison, for debts taken on by him.  Meantime, Pitman is on the road to recovery.

On September the second, in a bakery in Pudding Lane, in the wee hours, a fire started, and wouldn't be put out.  Two children are born in those hours, too.  One to Pitman's wife and one to Sarah Coke.

And the wind picked up.  Can anything be done or has the Beast arrived?  Pitman joins the fight to stop the fire.  Not long after this, Coke returns from the sea. Although asked to help fight the fire by King Charles, he requests permission to find Sarah.  However, has he arrived in time to save her from the inferno?

C. C. Humphreys' novel of the Great Fire of London is intense as the fire itself was.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.