This well-wrought historical mystery pits the brilliant wordsmith John Donne against the Machiavellian politician Robert Cecil. The match is uneven; Cecil runs James I's kingdom while Donne struggles to make ends meet through the patronage of the alluring Countess of Bedford, who sets herself up as a rival to his resourceful wife, Anne. Donne is summoned to meet with Cecil, who suborns the struggling poet as a spy to infiltrate the underground network of English Catholics, seeking Jesuit priests. But Donne wants no part of any spying. He sets out instead to outwit Cecil as he journeys with Lady Bedford's crafty old manservant through dangerous territory, surviving plots and threats by his wits, aid from the quick-spirited Anne, and a strong dose of gallows humor.