to face down the guard-dogs. Clent tries to lose Mosca, but soon learns she is useful to him and accepts her. Mosca and Clent have an adventurous journey to Mandelion. On the way, they encounter Lady Tamarind's coach held up by Black Captain Blythe, a highwayman. Clent negotiates their safe passage, finding a way to gain the gratitude of both parties. In Mandelion, a hornet's nest of political intrigue, crime and corruption, they lodge in a marriage house, which arranges weddings for people who can't afford a church. Clent has been contracted as an informer for the Stationers’ Guild, who want him to find out the origin of illegal anonymous leaflets which promote a radical cause. They suspect it is some kind of provocation organised by their rivals the Locksmiths’ Guild. Unable to find a school to take her, Mosca agrees to work as Clent's spying assistant, and becomes entangled in the politics. Saracen is employed to take part in a beast-fight at an inn, to help Clent find out what is going on there. They become inconveniently implicated in the murder of Partridge, a barge captain who transported Saracen to Mandelion, while also smuggling lead for rebels to make bullets. Investigating this leads Mosca to identify the rebels, thereby uncovering a plot quite different from what anyone suspected. The resolution of it produces a surprising regime change. In the end, having made too many enemies, Clent has to leave Mandelion. Mosca chooses life on the road with Clent, thus providing a lead to the sequel Twilight Robbery. Characters Mosca Mye - the heroine of the story who has run away from home after burning her uncle's mill down. Her father died when she was 8. She is determined and devious. Saracen - Mosca's ill-tempered goose. Eponymous Clent - a travelling wordsmith and conman of dubious repute, who has been employed to act as a spy for the Stationers. Quillam Mye - Mosca's father, who didn't believe in the Beloved, the numerous deities of The Realm. Died when Mosca was eight, his radical books of freedom burnt. Black Captain Blythe - a not-so-villainous highwayman. Lady Tamarind Avourlace - sister of the Duke of Mandelion and political schemer. She keeps a crocodile in her rooms in place of a guard-dog. Mabwick Toke - head of the Stationers' Guild in Mandelion. Aramai Goshawk - leading agent of the Locksmiths' Guild. Hopewood Pertellis