James Sandys, sixteen-year-old boy actor on Southwark, hopes the latter months of 1590 will be a quiet period. A time to assume more important male roles on stage.

He hopes too for time with Cressida Somerville, the young woman he met when she ran away from her father. The adventure with her to thwart a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth made him realise how strongly they felt for each other.

But all plans change with an attack on someone dear to him at his theatre. Continuing to perform daily, James sets out to discover who is behind the evil deed, with Cressy at his side.

A French thief who dabbles with playwriting, a garishly dressed actor from a rival troupe at the Rose Theatre, a mysterious death, and a stumble into the world of the gallants, young wayward aristocratic sons with too much time and money, lead them into a world of gambling, people smuggling, and possible Catholic plans to infiltrate priests into England. When the Rose Theatre's actor falls in love with Ana, a gallant's captive serving woman, James sees no choice but to help them leave the country.

A desperate race around London's streets sees him and Cressy trying to keep Ana safe. With help from James' old school friend Parmentier, an agent of High Lord Treasurer Cecil, they must avoid Ambrose Russell, the gallant behind a nefarious ring of gambling and bawdy houses and the unlawful passage of peoples from Europe.

Can James and Cressy help their friends to safety? Is the wayward aristocratic son beyond the reach of the law? And what will become of the growing friendship between James and Cressy?. .