In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England’s throne leaves a legacy of violence and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. And with the gentle bud-strewn May, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, carrying with it many strange souls and even perhaps the knight’s killer. Brother Cadfael’s shrewd eyes see all: the prosperous merchant who rings false, an angelic lame boy, his beautiful dowerless sister, and two wealthy penitents.