The hastily buried body of a young woman is found in a newly tilled field recently given to the Benedictine abbey in a land exchange.

The two monasteries are quick to seal the deal once they decide to trade two plots of land at Saint Peter's Fair in August 1143.

Soon into the work, they stop, having found what they least expect: the bones and long dark hair of a woman in her unblessed and unmarked grave.

Sulien Blount, novice monk, reports to Abbot Radulfus of the devastation of Ramsey Abbey, having survived the long walk.

Learning of the local mystery, he shares the news that Generys was seen within the last three weeks, having sold her wedding ring to a silversmith in Peterborough as she and her new man flee the devastation of the Fens.

Geoffrey de Mandeville is destroying towns in the Fens, and ejecting the Benedictine monks from their monastery at Ramsey, in his rebellion against King Stephen.

At Longner manor, Pernel has the same idea, telling Donata of the local mystery; the two were alone after Sulien, no longer a monk, left to see the Abbot.

"[1] Kirkus Reviews is pleased with this novel: Wise, wily Brother Cadfael, herbalist and supersleuth of the 12th-century Benedictine Abbey at Shrewsbury, is once again faced with an unsettling puzzle.

A parcel of land, recent gift to the Abbey from Eudo Blount the younger, lord of the manor at nearby Longner, is being newly plowed when a woman's body, dead at least a year, is accidentally uncovered.

Cadfael and Sheriff Hugh Beringar are inclined to absolve Ruald from guilt in what may be his wife's death—their decision vindicated when young Sullen [sic] Blount, a novice monk just arrived from an abbey in far-off Ramsey, produces proof that Generys was recently seen in that area.

Sulien has decided to rejoin the world and his family at the manor in Longner, where his dying mother Donata and older brother Eudo preside over the estates left by the elder Blount—killed in King Stephen's service the year before.

When Sullen [sic] becomes involved in proving the innocence of a second suspect, Cadfael begins to feel an uneasiness not put to rest until all the bizarre, surprising pieces come together in another of Ellis's beautifully constructed, gracefully written stories.

[5]Publishers Weekly finds the detective work impressive: In Peters's 17th mystery featuring Brother Cadfael, the 12th-century monk takes investigative action when a young woman's body is discovered in a field newly tilled by his Benedictine abbey.

He was unprepared at Wilton, losing not only the fictional Eudo Blount's life, but also his important ally and royal steward William Martel, taken prisoner.

[note 1] Geoffrey de Mandeville was made Earl of Essex by King Stephen, and held several castles as gift from Empress Maud in her brief time of ascendancy.

Some would credit the name given to the era of dispute between King Stephen and Empress Maud as the Anarchy, to this rebellion of Geoffrey de Mandeville, one who changed his coat often, and was so reckless in East Anglia.

[15] The way that Donata and Generys used to settle their claims to the same man relies on a medieval concept called the wheel of fate.

Walking, he avoided looking like a wealthy target on horseback for the marauding forces of Geoffrey de Mandeville, successfully carrying the news of the attacks as he travelled.

Nigel Aspley is part of the force of armed men taken by Hugh Beringar to aid King Stephen in the Fens.

In The Devil's Novice, Nigel had veered to the side of the Empress in hopes of gain, but stayed at the family manor with his new wife, when he was injured three years earlier.

[21] The Potter's Field was adapted into a television program as part of the Brother Cadfael series by Carlton Media, Central and WGBH Boston for ITV.