The year is 1597. Elizabeth is queen. Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlains Men are packing Londons Globe Theatre. And the severed heads of Catholic insurgents are impaled on the Towers gates. One 14-year-old boy should arouse no ones interest. But within a week of his arrival, Richard Malory is robbed, beaten, and threatened at knifepoint. Someone wants him to leave London, and Richard is determined to find out why. Theres only one place hell be safe: as an actor on the stage. As he begins to unravel the traitorous plot that has ensnared him, Richard must make a difficult decision. Will he play the part set out for himor can he become the playmaker of his own life?From the Trade Paperback edition.