James Hereward 
Our Own Correspondent 

‘I know I frighten you, Mister Grey, but don’t be afraid of me. Be afraid of the man who wants the truth buried.’

It should all have been so simple: travel to the kingdom of Larence, learn more about the rumours of a war about to break out, and get back home to report on it. But Erasmus Grey is finding that his job is anything but simple in a place where newspapers are unheard of, and where the first thought

in people’s minds when he goes around asking awkward questions is spy. And that suspicion is just the beginning. Because there are people with a lot invested in this war, and the last thing they want is someone reporting what’s really going on.