In the summer of 1143 two important visitors arrive at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul - one dead and one very much alive. The visitor in the coffin has come to be buried in the Abbey's grounds, and it is the attendant Elave's mission to carry out his master's final wish. But Gerbert, the mighty prelate and guest of the Benedictines, remembers the dead man as a heretic. When a violent death ensues, Brother Cadfael is called once more to turn detective and solve the murder - but matters are complicated still further by the marvellous treasure box in Elave's care ...
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