In the 1630s, King Charles I’s efforts to expand royal power caused alarm throughout the British Isles. In England, a small group of noblemen chose to risk their lives and fortunes to stop him. In a magnificent new study of the political crisis during the English Civil War, acclaimed historian John Adamson explores the brilliant strategy of the men who started a movement that would overthrow a king, set three kingdoms ablaze, and lead to a new religious and political order in mainland Britain.