It is the winter of 1946, and, after years of war, ex-Special Operations Executive agent Duncan Forrester is back at his Oxford college as a junior ancient history fellow. But his peace is shattered when another, much-disliked, fellow is found dead in the quad, stabbed and pushed from an upper window. Another don is suspected and arrested for the murder, but Forrester is not convinced of his friend's guilt. On the hunt for the true killer, he finds himself plunged into a mystery involving lost Viking sagas, satanic rituals and wartime espionage