The Devonshire town of Crediton is awaiting an important guest, the Bishop of Exeter. But a band of mercenary soldiers is already in residence, and though mercenaries are a common sight in the fourteenth century, these men are bent on havoc. They terrify travellers, show no respect to anyone and there's a rumour a local girl has been seduced by their leader. The bishop's visit could be ruined...Simon Puttock, bailiff of Lydford, and Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, reluctantly attend the bishop's welcome dinner and are relieved when a disturbance interrupts the meal. They are less pleased, though, when they discover there's been a robbery amongst the mercenaries. And then a young girl is discovered murdered, hidden in a chest. The Crediton killings have begun...