Face down o'er the border

"Series heroine Susanna, Lady Appleton, is distressed to learn that her friend Catherine has gone missing. Catherine's mother-in-law, Jean, was found strangled after the two women got into a fight, and though Susanna is sure of her friend's innocence, Catherine could be executed if found guilty of murder. To make matters even more complicated, Catherine was last seen with a woman who once had an affair with Sir Appleton; her daughter has been spirited away by her nurse, Avise; and her son is trapped in Stirling Castle, a reluctant schoolmate of young King James"--B & N website Editorial Reviews (October 2007).