As Crispin tries to fulfill Bear's dream of moving to Iceland, he must leave Troth behind at a convent that needs a healer but, after falling in with thieves posing as musicians, he makes a new friend, Owen, and together they continue the arduous journey.

"Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot's intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family....