The controversial reign of King Charles I came to a brutal end in 1649 when he was executed for putting his own needs and interests ahead of those of his country. He had lost the English Civil War, which cost over 300,000 people their lives. The New Model Army was in charge and oversaw his beheading.

In 1660, the royalists have returned to power. Under the Act of Oblivion, the 59 men who initially had signed the death warrant for Charles I and saw his execution through have been found guilty in absentia of high treason. Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, has made it his personal mission to ensure that all of these men are caught and pay for what they did.

"It is easy to forget that ACT OF OBLIVION is a fictional work based on actual events, which is a testament to Robert Harris’ writing.... Learning European history was never this much fun in school!"

Two of the regicides, General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, Colonel William Goffe, have fled by ship to Boston, where they are the guests of American Daniel Gookin, who seeks to offer them safe harbor. They are lodged in his attic and are well aware that the Act of Oblivion has been enacted, making them marked men.

The extremely driven Nayler will not let his obsession go, even in the face of his own people reminding him that the whole point of the Act of Oblivion was to make an example of just four individuals who would be put to death. Nayler may have agreed to these terms, but he knows in his heart that he will not rest until all of the regicides are punished for their actions.

Meanwhile, Whalley and Goffe realize that nowhere may be safe, and they need to remain on the move. They venture to Cambridge, where they continue to find sympathizers to their cause. Their flight takes them across the New England territory to the area known as New Amsterdam. There are those who are more than willing to give up information about their whereabouts; it is no secret that the bounty for their return to England, dead or alive, is a substantial one. Once Nayler learns of the alleged location of Whalley and Goffe, he takes matters into his own hands --- and the situation really heats up from there.

It is easy to forget that ACT OF OBLIVION is a fictional work based on actual events, which is a testament to Robert Harris’ writing. The book provides not only significant amounts of European history, but also thrilling suspense over Nayler’s pursuit of his final two targets. For those who are not aware of the outcome, I will not spoil it here. Harris spends time in the Acknowledgements discussing the fate of Whalley and Goffe, which plays directly into the historical thriller he has so masterfully penned. Learning European history was never this much fun in school!