A stranger in Sherborne fleeing justice from murder in another town causes a young apprentice working on the Abbey misericords serious injury. When young Luke, stepson to Matthias Barton, becomes involved with the felon an unhappy rift is revealed in the Barton household. The disappearance of Luke causes Matthias to leave the school in the hands of his wife and Martin Cooper, as he and Ezekiel Jacobson attempt to find Luke before he meets an unpleasant fate. Their trail takes them along the South coast of England following a gang of ruthless wool smugglers, who are not afraid to kill to gain their prize.