When the fanatical priest Father Micah is murdered, Sir Josse d’Acquin and Abbess Helewise face a case shaped by fear of heresy and the willingness of religious zealots to condemn those whose beliefs fall outside accepted doctrine. The dead man’s hostility has left many possible enemies, but the danger extends beyond the immediate killing.
The inquiry brings Josse and Helewise into contact with a persecuted group associated with Cathar belief and forces them to weigh law, conscience and survival against accusations that can end at the stake. The novel uses the religious tensions of late twelfth-century England to show how easily doctrinal suspicion can become a weapon for private vengeance.
