The war between the rebellious barons under Simon de Montfort and those loyal to King Henry III seethes around the border town of Ludlow during February and March 1264, with contending armies ravaging the countryside on every side.

But not all of medieval Ludlow’s citizens are caught up on the conflict, or so they think. Some have more pressing personal business — such as Harry the woodcarver, whose life is jolted by the unexpected return of his estranged wife, Megge. She stuns Harry with the confession that she sold their two sons into serfdom to stave off her own poverty.

What can Harry do in the face of this monstrous revelation but ask his close friend, Stephen Attebrook, the finder extraordinaire, to get the boys back?

This request plunges Stephen and his two friends, Harry and Gilbert, into the midst of the war as they rush across the March in search of the missing children — a search that ultimately leads them into the dangerous wilds of Wales where murder and violent death await.