A boy holds a dagger and looks away. Another boy sits above him and looks down t him, two fingers caressing the first boy's shoulder.

Buy from

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

BookShop

Amazon

Summary

1593, Elizabethan London. Sixteen-year-old Will Hughes makes his living on Shakespeare's stage, stuffing his corsets with straw and pretending to be someone he's not. But he's acting a part offstage, too—one his very life depends upon. Will is the son of traitors, and he must blend in and not starve in order to return to his family and escape the Queen of England's kingdom for good.

But Will's plans are ruined when his mentor, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered under mysterious circumstances. Will discovers that Marlowe was a spy for the queen and was stalking an assassin rumored to be part of an ancient secret society.

When Will intercepts an attempt on the queens life, she chooses him as the next spymaster and promises plenty of money and a grand estate a chance to help his family.

But guarding the queen's life means teaming up with the young Lord James Bloomsbury, a man more obnoxious and handsome than he has any right to be and who harbors dark secrets of his own.

Together, the two will have to hunt the elusive assassin, defend the queen's life, and avoid losing their own lives as their forbidden feelings for each other ignite.