It is the year of our Lord 1573.
Once, England was a land of magic. Those times have gone. Only our grandparents recall knowing people who regularly met with fairies, all the giants have hidden away in the hills and as for dragons... no one is sure whether they were ever anything other than stories. Magic itself isn't what it used to be. The tales tell of people who shifted form at will, who commanded the elements to do their bidding and reigned supreme over angels and demons. Now, in order to cause a spark to light a candle, one must research the exact position of the stars and calculate the relevent corespondences.
But it is a time of change. Elizabeths reign has brought back soemthing of the splendor of the past. She is queen not only of her people, but also of their imagination. The church is changing: people are throwing away the false trappings of papism and learning about Truth. Warfare is changing: as an ambassador in France, Sir Francis Walsingham learned wars were won not with swords and arrows, but with secrets and lies. Now as Queen Elizabeth's Secretary of State, he intends to use this knowledge to his advantage.
As agents of Walsingham, you have been assigned to a special task force to handle matters of national importance at home. Your motivations could be status, fortune, faith, or duty to your country. Your skills will be many and varied - Walsingham recruits range between wanted criminals to priests, from battle hardened veteran soldiers to ivory towered theoretical thaumaturgists.
Maybe the time has come for magic to return.