In fifteenth-century England, when his father's murderer is revealed to be his guardian, seventeen-year-old Richard Shelton joins the fellowship of the Black Arrow in avenging the death, rescuing the woman he loves, and participating in the struggle between the Yorks and Lancasters in the War of the Roses.

Rémy Brunel, acrobat and former jewel thief, stayed behind in London when the circus left, but she is starting to feel lonely, so when magician Yannick, an old friend, turns up she decides to return to France and the circus with him--but detective Thaddeus Rec believes Yannick is up to no good, and determines to pursue them in an airship to win her back.