A further novel featuring Brother Cadfael, in which he is called upon to investigate a savage killing, and finds that a leper house could be a possible refuge for a hunted man.
Busy on an errand Cadfael has no time to think about the grand wedding which is to take place in the abbey church. The groom is an ageing nobleman, the bride a young woman who has been coerced into marriage. It does not look set to be a happy one, but before it takes place a killing occurs and Cadfael determines to find out the truth.