The year is 1427. The Hundred Years War rages on. France is virtually extinguished. Amid the chaos of war, the ruthless Gilles de Rais - Marshal of France, murderer, Devil-worshipper – ransacks the monastery at Mont Baiard in search a holy relic, the Sword of Alaric, tied to an ancient prophecy: he who wields the sword will rule over the empire of the Caesars, just like the man for whom it was made once did. De Rais is thwarted, however; two novice monks escape the sack of the monastery with the treasure. The hunt is on. But the two novices, Guillame and Vincent, are not alone. Cosimo de’ Medici, magnate of Florence, has no desire to see his city subjugated to De Rais’ will. He harnesses his vast wealth and influence to hire two sellswords, veterans of the wars in France – Robert Blackbourne and Giulio Berdini, known to friends and enemies alike as the Bull and the Wolf. For a price, the two men will storm a castle, slit a throat, rob a caravan – or rescue a holy relic from the hands of a murderous fanatic. In search of the sword, Robert and Giulio travel to France, where their paths cross with Guillame, Vincent and Marshal de Rais’ – yet when the treasure is all but in their grasp, they find themselves embroiled in open battle between the armies of England and France. Now they must fight for their very survival. With Marshal de Rais joining the ranks of the enemy, the outcome of the battle will not just determine the fate of England’s campaign to seize Orleans, but the fate of the whole of Europe.