Small-time criminal Erhard is on his way to the middle of nowhere for a job when he suddenly finds himself with a dead body in the trunk of his car. Reason enough to hide the car and seek shelter in the nearest village. Of course, the unconventional city slicker rejects country life from the outset and, to make matters worse, is blackmailed by the teenage Emma, who witnessed him fleeing the scene of the accident.

Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.