When Robin of Redesdale's northern rising erupts, Edward IV's court at the White Tower is thrown into alarm, with the Woodvilles blamed for stirring popular fury and Scottish pressure threatening to widen the crisis. Edward answers with fierce, almost reckless confidence, insisting that a king must meet rebellion with force, while Hastings cools the quarrel by offering himself as a humble soldier and urging unity. But the king's bravado cannot hide the deeper danger: pride, resentment, rumor, and mistrust are already loosening the bonds of power. As the revolt spreads, royal support collapses. Defections mount, conciliatory letters are sent to Warwick, and disaster strikes at Edgecote, where Rivers and Sir John Woodville are captured and executed. Cornered at Olney, Edward is saved when Warwick, Clarence, and the Archbishop of York arrive, their authority enough to scatter the rebels. Yet the rescue exposes a bitter truth: the realm is split between loyalty to the crown and hatred of the queen's family. Warwick becomes the decisive mediator, confronting the rebel captains, hearing the commons' grievances through Hilyard's searing speech, and forcing both king and insurgents to reckon with a kingdom where legitimacy, ambition, and justice are dangerously entangled. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.