The Spymaster General has formed an intelligence network to ensure that England remains the mightiest super-power. He is always looking for brilliant new agents, and Nathan Fox has just caught his eye . . .

Nathan is a gifted actor in the same company as thespian and fledgling playwright, Will Shakespeare. Of gypsy descent, Nathan is a skilled acrobat and horseman, and picks up accents and languages easily. When the Spymaster General sends one of his top agents, John Pearce, to recruit him, Nathan accepts with delight. He leaves the theatre and is sent to Master Robey's School of Defence to learn the skills that will keep him alive - swordplay, dagger-throwing and streetfighting, as well as codebreaking and intelligence gathering. Now set for his first assignment, Nathan partners Pearce and they travel to Venice to secure an alliance against the dreaded Spaniards.

On their arrival, Nathan and John - posing as servant and master - are brought into contact with the great General Othello. As their mission goes awry, the partners become embroiled in the events surrounding the explosive, tragic love affair between Othello and a young noblewoman, Desdemona. Nathan is leading a dangerous life of the highest drama - but will he survive to tell Will Shakespeare the details of his adventure?