A vicious rivalry threatens to cause chaos for Lord Westfield's Men when the onstage duels between Owen Elias and Sebastian Carrick become ever more realistic. However, it is an axe that splits open Sebastian's head one night in a Clarkenwell alley. Company book holder Nicholas Bracewell, accustomed to damage control, begins to investigate the victim's death.

Westfield's men are in dire straights, and their playwright appears to be suffering from a lack of creative inspiration. Thankfully, the company is offered a new play, The Malevolent Comedy, which they believe will drag them out of their rut and put on a spectacle enough to rival Banbury's Men, preventing them from stealing their audiences. However, during the play's opening performance, one of the cast members is struck down after being poisoned, making it his first and last appearance on stage. Suspicion is rife and Nicolas Bracewell, the trusty book keeper, refuses to let the crime go...

Westfield's Men are out of work. When their widowed patron chooses a Danish bride and plans a wedding in Elsinore, the troupe is invited to perform, as guests of King Christian IV. But the play they select will prove a disastrous choice. Westfield's Men soon find themselves embroiled in political intrigue and religious dissension.