Sir Robert Carey's night patrol is a disaster. First there's the fugitive he has to hand over to the Scots (the unsettled border of 1592 is no place to argue with a large party of armed men). His temper isn't improved by Wee Colin Elliot's sheep stealers. But the final unacceptable event of the black night is the exploding gun that takes the hand off one of his own men. Back in Carlisle, he discovers that this was not the only faulty weapon; the armory is full of them. The high quality weapons that had been shipped from Newcastle just the weak before have been stolen. But in a few days, even the death traps that replaced the shipment will have disappeared, and Sir Robert must take off in pursuit of the thieves and all the missing arms.His search takes him and four of his henchmen into Dumfries, where King James VI of Scotland and his raucous court have assembled. There he finds James as dissolute as ever, his own lost love, Elizabeth, still firmly shackled to her miserable husband, and the seductive Signora Bonnetti more than willing to take her place. The Italian lady's real interest lies elsewhere, however, and Carey is gallant enough to help her ... risking charges of treason in two kingdoms. Read Less