It is early 1812 and King George's subjects are suffering from the war, bad harvests and bad trade. As they wait for the influx of strangers attracted by the Easter Fairs, the authorities in Woolbridge fear that the country is on the edge of civil war. Martial Law seems to be the only answer.

Meanwhile, Raif Jarrett is restless in his role as Agent. His young cousin Favian, rusticated from Oxford, has been sent up North to learn some gentlemanly ways. But Jarrett is too busy for baby-sitting--the arrival of an old flame, an actress, is complicating his personal life, and rumours of government spies infiltrating Woolbridge are feeding his lust for mystery and adventure.

But when a traveling salesman is murdered in suspicious circumstances and Favian disappears, Raiff's problems become a lot closer to home. As he and Duffin--a local poacher and Jarrett's trusty sidekick--delve into the crime, they encounter a web of political deceit that throws up many more problems than it solves.