From the mysterious killing of King William Rufus, treachery and witchcraft, smuggling and poaching run through this epic tale of well-born ladies, lowly woodsmen, sailors, merchants and Cistercian monks. The feuds, wars, loyalties and passions of generations reach their climax in a crime that shatters the decorous society of Jane Austen’s Bath. From the cruel forest laws of the Normans to the danger of the Spanish Armada, from the free-roaming herds of ponies and wild deer to the mighty oaks which gave Nelson his navy, Rutherfurd has captured the essence of this ancient place. Forest and sea: there is no more perfect English heartland.