King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr and the court is watching keenly...When an old friend is murdered Shardlake vows to find the killer. His search leads him to Catherine Parr - and to the Book of Revelation. Together with his assistant, Jack Barak, and friend, Guy Malton, he investigate a series of murders which are talked of as witchcraft- for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer?