There's more to you than meets the eye. So many people tell Kit this that he thinks he must look very nondescript indeed. The thing is: they are right. Kit Wagstaffe, rescued from a plague cart, is taken into the household of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London and learns how to speak the language of the big black birds, who are also not what they seem. It is 1536 and Kit's secret knowledge comes in handy when he wants to help the condemned Queen Anne. It is a time of treason, accusations and blood and there are moments when young Kit wonders if he will escape with his head.