A NEW CASE AWAITS THIS TIME FOR BROTHER CADFAEL WITHIN THE WALLS OF SHREWSBURY MONASTERY...

Early in the spring of the summer of 1144, the abbey of St. Peter and Paul in Shrewsbury is affected by floods. When the river returns to its banks, the horrified brothers discover that the remains of Saint Winifred, the patron saint of the monastery, have disappeared. Did the high water take them away? Or does one of the abbey's visitors have a hand in the mystery?

And that a really varied collection of them gathered there in that unkind time. Two itinerant Benedictine monks, the Earl of Leicester, an elderly troubadour with his groom and a singer... Experienced connoisseur of human nature, Brother Cadfael suspects from the start that not all of them are what they seem at first glance.

A shadow of suspicion quickly settles on the shoulders of the insincere Benedictine Tutil. His guilt or innocence could be confirmed by an eyewitness, but before he gets a chance to speak, he is systematically murdered. Someone is clearly trying to cover their tracks…