"April 1642. Sir John Hotham, Governor of Hull, is charged by Parliament to secure the arsenal at Hull and deny entry to King Charles I. If only it were that simple. With a Royalist siege outside the city walls and the rebellion of the mob within, Civil War seems inevitable and losing his head more than probable. And that is to say nothing of his problems at home -- a lovesick daughter, a ghost obsessed with the chinaware, sexually arousing furniture and a wife intent on escape."--Page 4 of cover.