Cesare Greyfell, a brilliant student in Anselem Monastery reluctantly accedes to the Dredgemarsh throne of his father, King Philip. He has promised his dying father that he will be guided by Chancellor Demetrius Tancredi until he reaches his twenty first birthday. However, instead of ruling with the guidance of Tancredi, he is neglectful of his duties and distracted by his desire for the beautiful Lucretia Beaufort, allowing Tancredi to take over the administration of Dredgemarsh. By so doing, he puts his own life in jeopardy, loses his kingdom and the one person he loves, Lucretia. Sick and severely wounded, he finds refuge back in the monastery of Anselem where he realises that it was his own indifference and neglect of his sacred duties that caused his downfall and the loss of Dredgemarsh. He is deeply ashamed. He is also tormented by revelations that Lucretia Beaufort may have been implicated in his downfall. Tancredi, one time chancellor to Cesare, is now the brutal dictator who rules Dredgemarsh with the assistance of an occupying army from Brooderelund, a neighbouring country. The captain of the Brooderlund army, the ruthless Albrect Pentojan, has been promised Lucretia's hand in marriage. He also has plans for Dredgemarsh that do not include Tancredi. With help from the most unlikely quarter, Cook Meister Clutchbolt and his kitchen menials, Cesare sets out with a small band of Anselem knights to reclaim his kingdom and punish those who have betrayed him. The odds are stacked against him in this strange and sometimes bawdy tale of Dredgemarsh.