King John has been monarch for fifteen years, overseeing a disastrous reign that has driven England further into debt, lost territories in France, alienated his barons, and placed corrupt, cruel men in positions of power.

Outside the walls of Château d'Amboise, Lady Brenna Wardieu, the master archer daughter of Lord Randwulf de la Seyne Sur Mer, encounters a knight whilst out hunting.

Brenna remains suspicious of the mysterious knight, Griffyn Renaud de Verdelay, rightfully so since he intends to kill her brother Robert for a large reward from King John.

Brenna learns that Griffyn is an Englishman named Rowen Hode, Earl of Huntington, who has been passing as the famous "Prince of Darkness", a Burgundian knight unmatched in the lists.

Canadian author Marsha Canham began writing about the legend of Robin Hood in her novel Through a Dark Mist, being inspired by her love of the Errol Flynn films and a recurring dream of a "beautiful blonde-haired damsel in distress, held captive in a cave high on a cliff, rescued by two men cloaked in monks' robes, wielding bows and arrows.

Instead, the Black Wolf's other son Robin would represent the outlaw – "conceived in the magical waters of the Silent Pool, destined to some great future enterprise that would carry his name down through the centuries.

[2] Reflecting back on her trilogy, Canham said that she took "great pains and even more perverse pleasure in skirting around the edges of the actual legend, choosing instead to suggest how the many elements of several heroic characters blended together to create the fabled Prince of Thieves.

[4] Publishers Weekly gave a mostly positive review to The Last Arrow, noting that while its first half was "weighed down by excessive background information, much of it awkwardly related in dialogue," the novel still contained "rousing action, a strong sense of medieval life, a satisfying love story and intriguing spins on historical events as well as the familiar Robin Hood characters [that] should bring readers back for more.

"[7] Jane Sullivan, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, recommended the entire "swashbuckling" trilogy for "hopeless romantics,"[8] while Rebekah Bradford of The Post and Courier called the series an "inventive reimagining.