In the winter of 1142, snow blankets the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul causing damage to the guest hall, and the brothers must repair its roof before the danger worsens. The treacherously icy conditions are to prove nigh fatal for Brother Haulin when he slips from the roof in a terrible fall, sustaining such grave injuries that he makes his deathbed confession to the Abbot and Brother Cadfael.
A startling story of trespasses hard for God or man to forgive emerges. But Haulin does not die. On his recovery, he sets out on a journey of expiation, with Cadfael as his sole companion. An arduous trip, it leads to horrifying discoveries, and to murder...