In a fifteenth-century England scarred by civil war, the lives of three young people are changed forever when rogue Hawk Jankin tries to take possession of the castle of Anna Lillie and her enterprising maid, Thomasin. But Jankin soon finds his ambitions thwarted and in his desire for revenge, he finally lays siege to the castle - with appalling consequences. Twisted by grief and haunted by the unforgettable image of fire, Jankin is lead to the local waterfall, High Crag Linn where he contemplates taking his own life. But there, a strange encounter sets him on a very different path. Instead of escaping his guilt he is forced to confront it in very different - but equally dramatic - circumstances.