1193. A crusader returns to his home in Nottinghamshire, to find the land divided. England is torn between the land-owning Norman lords and their English subjects, the country crippled by years of taxation and the long absence of its king. The crusader’s name is Robin of Locksley. Following a youth spent with lowborn friends Robin is determined to settle into the role his father wanted for him: a lord dispensing justice to the county. But a false rumor of his death in the East has stolen Robin's lands from him, and the justice meted out by his fellow lords hardly seems to deserve the name. When Robin is compelled by a neighboring lord to condemn his childhood friends for a crime they did not commit, he realizes that he must choose between the need to regain his lost inheritance and his desire to help the commons of Nottinghamshire.
In this lucidly imagined and carefully researched recreation of the era of King Richard 'the Lionheart', Robin seeks the support of common-born and noble to defy the self-serving lords who oppose him, but it soon becomes clear that he can accomplish more outside the law than within it...In this her first novel, Lauren Johnson's knowledge as a historian brings a vividness to the project, presenting us with an authentic depiction of the sights, sounds, conflicts and furies that defined this era. A story of redemption, loss, romance and adventure, this novel will excite and enthrall.
