This work investigates the complex political and social dynamics of English lordship in Ireland during the mid-fourteenth century, specifically focusing on how the Anglo-Irish aristocracy navigated their relationship with the English Crown. Robin Frame, a noted historian of medieval Ireland, utilizes extensive archival research and administrative records to analyze the tension between resident lords and absentee landowners. The book argues that the period between 1318 and 1361 was defined by shifting loyalties, royal intervention, and the evolving administrative structures that governed the Anglo-Irish territories.

Historians regard this text as a foundational study for understanding the administrative and political history of medieval Ireland. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of the period's complex power structures.