Poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer, newly returned from a delicate mission to Florence on behalf of Edward III, is despatched to sort out a home-grown problem in the Devon seaport of Dartmouth. Geoffrey expects to solve the theft of the cargo of a wrecked Genoese ship with comparative ease. He and his companions are lodging with a wealthy doctor of physic in his fine house overlooking the water. But there is deep hostility in the port town between citizens and sailors - accusations and daggers fly. There are tensions in the house as well, and murder occurs soon after their arrival when one of the occupants is done to death in the herb garden. Chaucer finds himself drawn into an investigation in a household of intriguing visitors, including a thrice-widowed older woman, a soft-spoken herbalist and the madam of a local brothel. Is the murderer one of them or is it a member of the band of smugglers who live in the wild woods on the shore? And what is the truth to the rumours that the wrecked ship was carrying a secret cargo, an object that is literally priceless?