Set in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII, it follows hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant, Jack Barak, as they investigate a series of murders and a plot to question the legitimacy of the line of succession to the English throne.

Set in the autumn of 1541, the novel describes fictional events surrounding Henry VIII's 'Progress' to the North (a state visit accompanied by the royal court and its attendants, the purpose of which was to accept the formal surrender from those who had rebelled during the Pilgrimage of Grace).

Matthew Shardlake (a London lawyer) and his assistant Jack Barak arrive in York ahead of the Progress to fulfill an official role but also with a secret mission from Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.

[1] Desmond Ryan, a former critic with The Philadelphia Inquirer, also reviewed the novel positively, noting that Sansom succeeded at writing a first-person narrative without awkward historical exposition by the protagonist.

[2] Clea Simon of The Boston Globe wrote that Sovereign was not only longer, but demonstrated greater depth of plot than Sansom's previous novels, calling it an "engaging mix of history and fiction".