Fran ois Villon, wayward poet and notorious outlaw, disappeared from view in 1436, aged 32. Nothing is known of what happened to him after he was banished from France. Jerusalmy’s novel starts where the history books end, finding Villon as he languishes in jail. To escape execution, he enters into a questionable relationship with a bishop in the pay of Louis XI. All Villon has to do to earn his freedom is to convince a printer and bookseller to move from Mayence to Paris, saying that by doing so he’ll be more able to circulate progressive ideas, but not all goes to plan.