In the fall of 1669, the Nonsuch returned to London with a load of fur from Hudson Bay. It brought something else, too--the lost journal from Henry Hudson's tragic search for a passage to Cathay in 1611. The journal finds its way to the aged Robert Bylot and triggers disturbing memories of his life--memories of a plague-ridden city, the mysterious alchemist John Dee, and mutiny in the frozen wastes of Hudson Bay. Will the journal and memories finally allow Bylot peace of mind?