A visiting merchant is murdered at the Shrewsbury fair, and many of the locals may have had a motive. The search for the murderer intensifies after a second merchant is killed.

"Brothers from Ramsey come to Shrewsbury looking for money to rebuild their monastery, which has been ransacked by rebel soldiers. They claim that a loan of Saint Winifred's Holy Relics, which are housed at Shrewsbury, would be suitable generosity. Cadfael and the Abbot opt to provide the men with a gift of precious gems instead. Then, during a cataclysmic night of violent storms, the Holy Relics disappear. Cadfael is dispatched to recover them and...

Cadfael suspects the motives of the young man wanting to join Shrewsbury Abbey as a novice to be not entirely selfless. A senior cleric sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a colleague forms the same impression. Suspicions increase when the half-burnt body of the cleric is found and a wild man from the woods is falsely accused.

When a party of monks treks to Wales to dig up the remains of St. Winifred, the main opponent to their excavation efforts is found dead.

A body is found among a crowd of visitors to Shrewsbury, leaving Cadfael to uncover possible explanations for the death.

Suspected of robbing the town goldsmith, a young juggler seeks refuge at the abbey where Brother Cadfael is given the job of keeping an eye on him while the authorities investigate. But things become more complicated when the goldsmith's neighbor is found floating dead in the river.