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 Duncanβs 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 β and to spend a relaxing weekend with Gemma. But relaxation isnβt on the agendaβ¦
Jack Montfort, Duncanβs 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 Glastonburyβs 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 Abbeyβs peace long ago, according to Montfortβs newly discovered history. And that knowledge will spark a violence that reaches into the present. When a member of Jackβs 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.