In the first 'Agnes de Souarcy mystery' , Andrea Japp offers the reader a multi layered mystery within a richly imagined portrait of Medieval France.Set in 1304 in the Normandy countryside, young widow Agnes de Souarcy, the beautiful lady of the manor, is fighting to retain her independent way of life, aware that her spiteful half-brother will do anything to destroy her.Meanwhile the King of France and the Church are locked in a battle for power that will decide the fate of the Knights Templar and Hospitaller. These two different worlds collide in the forest near Souarcy , where a terrifying creature begins to kill and mutilate a succession of monks on their way to deliver a secret message of momentous importance.