It is said a legend is just a beautiful lie... In the second half of the first millennium, the legends say that London disappeared for over four hundred years. We know almost nothing about what happened during that time. But if we could shine a light on the city's ruined walls, we would be in for a shock. For here the Romans are long forgotten. King Scarabold now rules what little remains of the city, together with his over-entitled daughter Giniva, her effete brother Leperdandy and their wayward, lunatic relatives - all squabbling and fighting amongst themselves for the future of their corrupted dynasty while trying to hide their most terrible secret. And opposing Scarabold and his wayward family is a horde of bitter enemies - the eerie Sheathwing, Earl of Beetles, the warlike nuns of Étranges Cadeaux, M'Lin the ape, Orobus the serpent, the terrifying Mater Moribund and the sinister child-spies Spackle and Peut - united in their desire to bring the king's troiubled reign to a bloody end. But it's the arrival of a mysterious outsider into the midst of the beleaguered Scarabold's court that seems to offer a semblance of hope. The stranger's name is Watborn and he is a birdcatcher - strong, silent, he will infiltrate the royal family for a purpose that is all of his own . . . As fiendishly-armed warriors gather beneath the walls, the battle for London, its body and its soul is about to begin - and who will be left unscathed at the field's end?