Jankyn's narrative relates his own past, a past spent unwillingly under the tutelage of priests and friars in an Augustinian monastery; his rebellious flirtation with the heresy of Lollardism; and finally his becoming a thief, an accused traitor, and yeoman to Bishop Henry Beaufort, illegitimate grandson of 'The Black Prince', and half-brother to King Henry V. It is Beaufort who 'rescues' Jankyn from Newgate prison to serve as his investigator of the rumors that Richard II is not dead, but alive in Scotland, encouraging the small rebellions under the sign of the White Hart. It is up to Jankyn to discover the truth...