Christmas, 1141. Abbot Radulfus returns from London, bringing with him a priest for the vacant living of Holy Cross (known as the Foregate) - a man of presence, scholarship and discipline, but neither humility nor the common touch. When he is found drowned in the mill-pond, suspicion is cast in many directions ... and only the dedicated perseverance of Brother Cadfael can unravel the threads that lead to the murderer.
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