Baldwin Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock have been granted leave to go on pilgrimage, both seeking solace after the recent, traumatic events in Gidleigh. Together they travel across Europe to Santiago de Compostela in Portugal but, as usual, danger is never far away.

Foreign travel itself is a perilous activity - outlaws and robbers threaten at all times, not to mention political unrest in Europe and a spate of recent attacks on pilgrims. But it seems an even greater menace hangs over the sacred city of Santiago. A beautiful young girl is found raped and murdered on the hillside, the victim of the most brutal of killers. Baldwin and Simon lend their investigative skills to the local enquiry, but the unexpected appearance of a face from Baldwin's past threatens both the investigation and Baldwin's very future.