The entire brotherhood of the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury is alarmed by the strange behavior of a new novice. Obedient and silent by day, at night he falls under the power of nightmares—screams and howls as if possessed. Could it be that the “devil’s novice” is somehow involved in the mysterious disappearance of the bishop’s messenger? When events take an even darker turn, Brother Cadfael sets out to search for the truth.