Stranded on a Frisian beach with enemies closing in, apostate monk turned spearman, Cuthbert, is rescued by Eadmund the Wanderer, a traveller with a past. They arrive at Whitby abbey in time to be sent by Abbess Hilde to solve a mystery, thwart a thief, and-perhaps-wrest peace for Britain out of catastrophic enmities. As the adventure progresses, Cuthbert begins to realise that he knows nothing about Eadmund, and less than he thought about Hilde...