It is the year 833, and in the land of the East Angles, the rains have failed. The poor pray and starve. Then foreign hermits enter the north of the kingdom. They preach that God’s wrath has fallen upon the people because the king and the head of the Church are heralds of the Antichrist and have allowed sin to flourish. In the fevered atmosphere, lives are taken.

In the kingdom’s south, a boy with royal connections commits an inexplicable crime. The situation spirals out of control, and murder follows. The body of one of the victims is rumoured to have caused a miracle, drawing starving folk to surround the abbey where the body lies. In desperation, the ealdorman calls on Father Eadred—a simple priest with an ability to solve murders—to investigate the crimes.

Eadred throws himself into the task, risking his sanity and life to discover the truth. He uncovers a vile plot, where Christians and pagans are entangled in a volatile web. Eadred rushes from one end of the kingdom to the other, in an attempt to prevent the final crime.

But has someone beaten him?