From the historical-detective cycle Murders in the times of Emperor Rudolf II.
The Primate of Prague's Jewish Town, Markus Mordechai Maisel, appeals to the scribe of the provincial court, Lukas Trobl of Květnice, to investigate the mysterious theft of corpses from the Jewish cemetery. Not long afterwards, Lukáš overhears a debate in a Prague tavern between imperial officers who want to get rid of the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Hungary, Field Marshal Heřman Rusworm.
The court scribe warns the marshal as his friend, but the marshal takes his warning lightly. At the same time, Luke draws the hatred of some of the officers who are loyal to the Marshal's rival, General Giovanni Belgiois, and has to hide from them. After a night watch in the Jewish cemetery, he eventually manages to uncover the corpse robbers, but shortly afterwards his fiancée Kordula is kidnapped.
The dramatic plot culminates in its liberation and also in the mutual duel between Marshal Rusworm and General Belgiois. Rusworm kills Belgiois in the process, but because Emperor Rudolf II. banned duels, the Marshal is imprisoned in the dreaded Daliborka in Prague Castle. Will Luke be able to save the Marshal from execution? And will the Emperor's mistress, Kateřina Stradová, help him?
