England in 1264 was divided between loyal supporters of King Henry III and his enemies, led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who insisted that Henry adhere to the Provisions of Oxford, which allowed for the formal organization of a baronial council—in essence, the origins of Parliament—to work with the king in the formation and adjudication of British law. In this riveting work of historical fiction, Hamilton centers the activity that led to the Battle of Lewes on a Jewess named Judith, who, assuming the disguise of a young man, serves as a spy for the king. There is no man Judith despises more than de Montfort, who, 10 years before, had incited an angry mob of Christians to wreak havoc on a Jewish settlement, killing Judith's father, younger sisters and baby brother in the process. Hamilton's story, with convincing dialogue and finely paced intrigue, captivates the reader from beginning to end. With an emphasis on fast-moving plot, the author never fully develops any of her primary characters, but this is only a minor quibble. More importantly, this is a novel not only about a pivotal period in Henry's reign, but also about the life-and-death friendships between a handful of Jews and Christians and those who would conspire against them. On the very last page, Hamilton teases the reader with the suggestion that she has delivered only the first chapter of a larger tale. If readers are lucky, Hamilton will provide more about Judith and this period of British civil war.