Will Shakespeare is a young lad, happy to work at school, but happier really when he is writing long love poems and short plays. Unfortunately, his father, having fallen on hard times has to send Will out to earn his own living. Eventually managing to convince his family that his pen and education will provide a better living than by making gloves in his father's shop, Will sets off for London and the new and exciting world of the theatre. Elizabethan London is like no other place in the world, with its sights, smells, opportunities and constant danger. While Will is forging his career and making new friends in the theatre, including the alluring Dark Lady of the Sonnets, he must also be very careful of those he mixes with. The Tudor capital is a treacherous place at the best of times, and there are ever-listening ears everywhere. William Shakespeare has to be on guard at all times, especially when he is forced to become a government spy. Based on a wide range of sources, D. Lawrence-Young has written a fascinating novel that helps us answer the question: What was Shakespeare doing during his so-called "Lost Years?'