Brother Cadfael finds himself caught in the crossfires of the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud, and when he's called upon to bury 94 rebel soldiers and finds one corpse too many, it sets him on a murder trail.

"A collection of three stories of 12th-century monastic life including a Christmas story, a tale of robbery and attempted murder, and a narrative of Brother Cadfael's early years."--

In the sunny month of August, A.D. 1141, Brother Cadfael is presented with a double mystery set against the larger drama enacted by King Stephen and his arch-enemy, cousin, and rival claimant to the throne, the Empress Maud. In the bloody struggle for the crown, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and papal legate, is drawn into a contretemps that will result in a town laid waste, a nunnery burned to the ground, churches razed, and the priory of...