The second Ted Gorse Adventure, sequel to THE TEEN, THE WITCH & THE THIEF. It is the week before Christmas, and Ted's life is roughly back on course after the events of the summer. Personal loss, the brief ability to command the world-destroying Knowledge, and a showdown with the mad magician who had shaped his life are behind him. And then the King appears in Salisbury. Who is the King? No one seems to know, but he rules the city, and the city is happy to be ruled. Even Ted's nearest and dearest are under his spell. It seems the only person able to disobey him is Ted himself. The King wants Ted, and he doesn't wish him well.