The story opens during the midnight service at the Abbey, when a young man seeks sanctuary, just seconds ahead of a mob of locals fresh from a wedding feast, charging him with theft and murder.

At the midnight services of Matins on a lovely May night, a boy speeds into the Abbey church just ahead of mob after him for theft and murder.

Liliwin is a wandering jongleur[3] and entertainer, evicted from the goldsmith's wedding reception earlier for breaking a wine jug during his routine.

Brother Anselm teaches him to read and write music and works to restore the rebec to condition, and Liliwin thrives on regular meals in the Abbey.

On Monday Rannilt visits Liliwin with food from Susanna, and discarded men's clothing from Margery, Daniel's new wife.

At the river's edge, Cadfael comes upon the body of Baldwin Peche the locksmith, the same person sought by Madog of the Dead-boat.

Margery establishes her power and stops Daniel's affair, while removing the suspicion of murder from his head.

The next day, Madog and Cadfael find the place of Peche's murder, where the Aurifaber property meets the Severn.

When Peche approached Susanna in the midst of laundry day, she killed him by hitting him with a rock and drowning him when he was unconscious.

Liliwin the acrobat climbs to the air vent, quietly peels away the lattice wood and enters the hay loft in search of Rannilt.

The reviewer found that "This seventh installment in the Brother Cadfael series could be faulted for revealing the murderer's identity a bit too soon, but the riveting climax more than compensates for the early disclosure.

"[1] "Goodtoread.org", an independent, Christian-orientated organisation, which reviews books on behalf of parents, calls Peter's writing style "consistently agreeable" and the novel's deathbed scene and comments on piety "edifying", but considers the book "marred by extra-marital lovemaking" and "less wholesome than one expects.

Three plants growing in proximity are crucial clues for ascertaining where the murder took place: water crowfoot, alder, and the less common fox-stone (orchis masculata).

[9] The story takes place during The Anarchy, a term referring to the 19-year civil war between King Stephen and his cousin the Empress Maud.

This story is set at a moment of relative peace in Shrewsbury from the never-ending contention, with a focus on local events.

The plot relies in part on the Middle Ages practice in England of sanctuary from the civil authorities if a fugitive stays in a sacred place like a church.

In this story, the time of sanctuary allowed the real culprits to be identified, saving a man of a lower class, the jongleur entertaining at the home of a goldsmith, from undeserved punishment.

Where the jongleur is here portrayed as the lower class but more diverse performer compared to the troubadour becoming common in this era (compare to the character Rémy of Pertuis in The Holy Thief), the character introduces much description of music, musicians, their skills and their instruments in the twelfth century in the story.

Even in a society where everyone seems to have a place, greed as a main force in a household can pervert the strongest love.

It was mostly filmed on location in Hungary, starred Sir Derek Jacobi as Cadfael and featured Sean Pertwee as Sheriff Hugh Beringar, Steven Mackintosh as Liliwin and Sara Stephens as Rannilt.

[citation needed] The episode was one of four released in an audio format with linking narration by Acorn Media.