In the 1440s, Sherborne has become a place verging on civil disobedience echoing the unrest felt in other parts of the land under the young King Henry VI. Against this backdrop the Abbot of Sherborne has a serious problem which could undermine the very fabric of the Abbey. He turns reluctantly to the Coroner, Sir Tobias and the schoolmaster Matthias Barton of Milborne Port to solve this.

Dislike of the Abbot grows, but who is the stranger seeking a child adopted by a local seamstress some years ago, and will Matthias be able to protect him from harm? Some of his scholars are anxious to become involved in the coming storm at court as the Yorkists and the Lancastrians begin to square up to one another. The Bishop of Salisbury does himself no favours with the local populace either, being more interested in his duties as confessor to King Henry. This, the penultimate book in the series, leads on to the troublesome years of the coming Wars of the Roses. Which side will they opt for in the gathering storm?