Duncan Kincaid has settled into his life as a part-time
father to Kit, the twelve-year-old son he only recently
discovered. But life has more changes in store: Gemma has
pursued a promotion that ends their partnership on the job
and places their personal relationship on a new, more
tentative footing. So when Duncan’s cousin and childhood
friend calls from Glastonbury to ask his help on a rather
unusual matter, he welcomes the opportunity to get out of
London – and to spend a relaxing weekend with Gemma. But
relaxation isn’t on the agenda…
Jack Montfort, Duncan’s cousin, grew up in the shadow of
Glastonbury Tor in a town revered as the site on an ancient
abbey, the mythical burial place of King Arthur and
Guinevere, and according to New Age followers, a source of
strong Druid power. Montfort has not much more than a
passing interest in the history of the area - until he
comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand
years old. The unsettling way this record comes into his
hands brings Montfort into contact with a disparate group
of townspeople: Nick Carlisle, a student of the myths
surrounding Glastonbury’s past; Simon Fitzstephen, a Church
scholar whose knowledge of the Old Religion and its
ceremonies is just as deep; Garnet Todd, a strange and
intense woman with a jealous attachment to the young and
very pregnant Faith Wills; and Winifred Catesby, the
Anglican priest whose love for Jack has nearly healed his
grief at the loss of his wife and daughter.
Something terrible and bloody shattered the Abbey’s peace
long ago, according to Montfort’s newly discovered history.
And that knowledge will spark a violence that reaches into
the present. When a member of Jack’s circle is attacked and
left for dead, he appeals to Duncan to find the truth the
local police cannot see. None of them envisions the peril
that lies ahead, or that there is more at stake than either
Duncan or Gemma dreamed possible.