As George Crandall tries to rebuild Capelburgh he is faced by one crisis after another. First the community is threatened by an attack from a company of runaway villeins led by men who call themselves the "True Witnesses" and lay claim to apocalyptic powers. It takes a bloody - but one-sided - battle to defeat them and unlock the secret of the silver reliquary Margaret could not resist buying. Then comes the greatest crisis of all: a new lord appointed by the king. Like so many mediaeval nobles, the new man is arrogant and cruel but George and his people have no choice but to submit - until, that is, the new lord wants to burn Lady Lucy alive. Then the full power of the silver reliquary must be unleashed to set matters right again.
