In 1640s England, Writer is arrested in the night and put on trial by the Witchfinder General. Can she unlock her latent powers and free herself before the murderous Trial by Water?

At the opposite end of the Vale, Keeper and his dragon are brutally seized by redcoats and carried to Coalschester Castle on the orders of Cromwell, leader of the rebellion against King Charles I.

The ancient Cedd arrives in Morningtree and claims to have once been an ally of the Alchemist Bede a thousand years before. But is he all that he seems? What is he really fighting for?

Archer and Weaver must now battle to rescue their friends before it is too late. But to fight the alchemists, the redcoats and their steam-powered landships, they may have to start a rebellion of their own.