It is 1537, and lawyer Matthew Shardlake is sent, by Thomas Cromwell, to supervise the Dissolution of Scarnsea Monastery, on the coast of Sussex. But nothing is as straightforward as it seems, as Lords and locals jostle for the benefits from the lands and wealth of the Monastery. A 'who dun it' that sheds interesting light on the process of dissolution, as well as on the darker side of Tudor life.