It is early in the twelfth century, and the civil war between King
Stephen and the Empress Maud rages with renewed vigor. In the battle of Lincoln,
the sheriff of Shropshire is captured, and the king himself is detained by his enemies.
An exchange of prisoners is arranged: The sheriff will be bartered for a young Welsh
lordling who has been captured during a misguided assault on a convent. All seems to
be going according to plan until one of the prisoners dies under mysterious circumstances
before the exchange is completed.

Canny as ever, Brother Cadfael suspects that more than a little evil is afoot, and before
long his suspicions are confirmed. How Cadfael determines that the mans death was not
a natural one is the stuff from which the best and most satisfying suspense stories are made.
In this case Ellis Peterss sleuthing Benedictine bases his indictment for murder on literally
a single thread. Of extraordinary softness and hue, this filament will bind together the destinies
of an unusual trio of young lovers. The unraveling of their tale yields a powerful subtext that
explores the nature of love, identity, and divided loyalty.

A stunning conclusion and a memorable cast of characters, including the debut of the irrepressible
Sister Magdalen, are sure to engage every devotee of
medieval suspense.

Ellis Peters was the nom-de-crime of English novelist Edith Pargeter, author of scores of books under her own name. She was the recipient of the Silver Dagger Award, conferred by the Crime Writers Association in Britain, as well as the coveted Edgar, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America. Miss Pargeter was also well known as a translator of poetry and prose from the Czech and had been awarded the Gold Medal and Ribbon of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations for her services to Czech literature. She died in 1995.

Roe Kendall, a native of the British Isles, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. She has performed on stage, as a voice-over artist, and as an audiobook narrator. "I really love playing all the parts when I narrate a book. It's an adventure, a challenge, and above all I feel that I learn something new with each book I read."