On St. Scholastica's Day in February 1355, Oxford explodes in one of the most serious riots of its turbulent history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee the city, and some choose to travel to Cambridge, believing that the killer of one of their colleagues is to be found in the rival university town. But within hours of their arrival, the first of their number dies, followed quickly by a second.Brother Michael, furious that anyone should presume to trespass on his territory searching for a killer, is dismissive of their insistence that Cambridge is harbouring a murderer, and is certain that the deaths of the Oxford men owe more to the fact that their representative in Cambridge has been defrauding them for years. He is irked, too, by the fact that Matthew Bartholomew, his Corpse Examiner, appears to be wholly distracted by the charms of the town's leading prostitute. In fact, Matthew's seemingly obsessive behaviour is becoming the talk of the town.Then it becomes clear that the Oxford riot was not a case of random violence, but part of a carefully orchestrated plot, and the motives for the subsequent murders become even more obscure. With the Archbishop of Canterbury about to honour Cambridge with a visitation, Michael and Matthew are under immense pressure to resolve the case before his arrival, and ensure that no one is planning a repeat of the St. Scholastica's Day riot. Read Less