England, 1647: a wise woman has predicted the birth of Simon Dale, to the very day and district. But if the rest of her ominous forecast is accurate, how can this ordinary child be predestined to love where the King loved, know what the King hid, and drink of the King's cup? For the young man, Simon Dale, only one course of action can be taken: not to seek his own path, but to leave himself in the hands of Fate. This brilliant novel charts an absorbing period in history and the tumultuous life of an ordinary man in noble surrounds. (Goodreads)