Bandits, soldiers, thieves, murderers: all thrive in the lawless hills. The Borders are at war. Henry VIII, fat and pained with a diseased leg, wants to burn them all; to burn the very water if he has to. Batty Coalhouse is still haunted by Maramaldo, the warlord responsible for cutting off his arm. He's given an intriguing offer: find some stray nuns and bring them to safety. In turn, that will lead him to his nemesis, now rampaging with an army not far away in the Cheviot hills. What seems a routine assignment becomes a living hell, for in the Debatable lands, nothing is as it seems.