Summer 1323: in the Cornish village of Cardinham, a penniless young woman is found hanged alongside the dead bodies of her children. Passing through the village on the final leg of their long journey home, friends Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock are detained and tasked with leading the investigation.
Simon and Baldwin quickly discover the young woman's death is not an isolated incident. And as the escape of a traitor threatens to embroil the country in a new civil war, they must look beyond friendships and family loyalties to find an evil killer - and secure the safety of Cardinham, and all who dwell there.