Set in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII, the events of the novel take place in the summer of 1545.

[2] Shardlake and his assistant Barak travel to Portsmouth on a legal case given to them by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr.

The book also concerns preparations for the Battle of the Solent and the King's warship, the Mary Rose.

[3] An abridged audiobook on CD, narrated by Anton Lesser, was released by Macmillan Digital Audio in 2010.

In 2018, BBC Radio 4 aired a full-cast adaptation of the novel, dramatised by Colin MacDonald, with Justin Salinger starring as Shardlake.