Life as a roving band of players is difficult. Life as a roving band of lord's players assigned to do some careful sleuthing is even harder. Because of his past exploits as a solver of mysteries and a minder of everyone's business, the player Joliffe, as well as the troupe of which he's a member, has been requested to not only take on the possibly bumbling ne'er-do-well son of a bailiff as a player, but also to solve a seeming mystery in a nearby manor. One doesn't take requests of one's patron lord lightly, so Joliffe and the troupe master reluctantly agree. Once at their posts as dramatic players, they alternate listening to the undertones of the village gossip, dodging and capturing the glances of the amorous lady-servants, and picking up on a strange current of falseness twining through the gentry -- all this while training a starry-eyed new apprentice!

Not only does Frazer write a great tale in the mode of her Dame Frevisse stories, she also provides excellent tidbits of information about being a member of a dramatic troupe during a time in which the church had not made up its mind about the lawfulness of such an organization. The characters are witty, the scenes lavish and the writing delightful. And the presentation of the mystery is top- notch.