During the tempestuous reign of Henry VIII, Bianca Goddard has seen up close what keeps a man alive--and what can kill him. A good thing, for she will need all her knowledge to keep a friend away from the gallows . . .

Bianca and her husband John are delighted to share in the glad fortune of their friend, Boisvert, the silversmith, who is to wed Odile, the wealthy widow of a goldsmith. But a pall is cast over the upcoming nuptials when the body of a pregnant woman is found beneath the bell tower of St. Vedast, the very church where the betrothed are to be married.

Tragedy strikes again at the couple's reception, when Odile suddenly drops dead in the middle of the wedding feast. The constable suspects Boisvert poisoned his new bride for her money, but there's not a trace of poison in her food or wine. Could the two deaths be connected? To prove their friend's innocence, Bianca will need to employ her knowledge of alchemy--for if she can determine how the bride was killed, she may find the person responsible for her murder--before another victim is added to the death toll . . .