Cadfael is called upon to bury executed rebel soldiers. But the religious ceremony is disrupted when Cadfael counts the deceased and finds one corpse too many. No one is above suspicion as Cadfael hunts for the murderer.

When the goldsmith is robbed and killed, locals decide Liliwin must be guilty. The mob pursues the man to the abbey where he frantically seeks the sanctuary of the altar. Cadfael believes Liliwan is innocent.

When an old baron and an orphan are to be wed at the abbey, all of Shrewsbury turns out to see the unlikely pair ride into town. Cadfael investigates when the baron ominously rides off on the eve of the wedding.

When a wealthy landowner decides to disinherit his stepson, Shrewsbury Abbey stands to benefit. But before its final, he is poisoned by food prepared in the abbey. The dead man's widow is Cadfael's own childhood sweetheart.

Cadfael's novice, Brother Oswin, is found close to death, babbling about a woman. When a nun is found raped, murdered and encased in the ice of a frozen stream, Oswin is accused of murder. Cadfael tracks the nun's companion, Ermina Hugonin, and sets out to prove Oswin's innocence.

Meriet, an unlikely novice, is hiding a secret. When a bishop's envoy is found murdered, Meriet takes the blame, but Cadfael believes he is protecting someone.