June 1142. Judith Perle, a wealthy young widow, has granted a valuable house to Shrewsbury Abbey on condition that the monks deliver a single white rose to her each year as rent. When the monk responsible for making the payment is murdered beside the rose bush, the symbolic agreement becomes the centre of a criminal investigation.
Brother Cadfael examines the people who might benefit if Judith’s arrangement with the abbey were broken. Her property, independence and possible remarriage all create competing interests, and the murder forces Cadfael to trace how questions of inheritance and desire have gathered around what seemed a simple charitable gift.
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