This is a tale of adventure and derring-do set in the time of King Henry VIII and the pilgrimage of grace. This was the period when King Henry was rebelling against Pope Clement VII, and when many Englishmen in the north, and many clergymen, were rebelling against Henry, in the so-called Pilgrimage of Grace. To raise needed funds for this rebellion against the king, the Spanish abbot Clement Maldon murders Cicely Foterells father and tries to claim all the family's lands and jewels.