The later parts of the book focus on the deadly battle of wits between Catholic conspirator Rollo Fitzgerald, hatching sophisticated dangerous conspiracies, and Ned Willard, the Royal spymaster tasked with uncovering and foiling these conspiracies. In many ways this echoes, under 16th Century conditions, the themes of Follet's WWII spy thriller Eye of the Needle - which featured a similar struggle between German spy Henry Faber ("Die Nadel") and MI5 spy catcher Percival Godliman.
