The violent, poignant story of how Oswald de Lacy came to be lord of Somershill.

Oswald de Lacy, Lord of Somershill, sits at his mother's deathbed.

Before she dies, he must make a confession. He needs to tell of the days when he was eighteen years old, the third, disregarded son of the family, sent off to become a monk, working in the infirmary while plague raged outside the monastery. Of how he was sent to a nearby village and witnessed the death of a local girl, and how he swore to investigate... and how he was drawn into a crime so dark and terrifying, it haunts him - and his family - still.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited