This work presents a history of peasants in the Middle Ages. It takes the reader into the life of Marion, the carpenter's wife, and her extended family as they struggle to survive through hardship. The book features a year in their lives at the mercy of the weather and the Lord of the Manor. Existing without soap, paper or glass and only the most basic of tools, we learn how they survive starvation, sickness, fire and natural disaster in their home on the edge of the Weald.