Part One: The Vulgar Lyre: The Fork is Chosen, I: Silent in the Boat, II: Dieppe: The Pitfalls and the Deer Summary

The book begins with a list of characters and a map of France and England. This prepares the reader for the characters he or she is about to meet, as well as the setting of the story. This is the first step the author uses to guide the reader into Europe of the sixteenth century.

In Part One: The Vulgar Lyre: The Fork is Chosen, a riddle begins the chapter. The regal and humorless Dowager Queen, Mary de Guise, wants Crawford of Lymond. She will soon sail for France and needs a good spy in France prior to her arrival and during her...