It is 1587 and the Spanish are preparing to launch the Armada. Ex-soldier David Becket discovers that large quantities of gunpowder are going astray. Can someone in the heart of the English government be selling munitions to the Spanish? Meanwhile, Becket's old friend Simon Ames has been captured by the Inquisition in Lisbon as he attempts to elicit vital information for the Queen. His wife, Rebecca; a black slave, Merula; and Becket are permitted by the Queen to launch an attempt to rescue him on one condition: they must also infiltrate the Spanish fleet and unravel the riddle of the Miracle of Beauty, which is the key to Spain's invasion plan.

But Simon has been sentenced to forced labour as a galley slave on the Armada, and, naked and chained to an oarbench, is now bound for England. Patricia Finney's intricate retelling of the Armada's history and fate is a triumph of storytelling. Gloriana’s Torch can be read as a stand-alone novel, but it is also the third and final volume in the series The Spies of God.

Patricia Finney's Firedrake's Eye and Unicorn's Blood are the first two volumes in The Spies of God series. They also feature David Becket and Simon Ames, and are published by Climbing Tree Books.