In the winter of 1356, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Cynric travel to Lincoln, where Michael is to receive an honour and Bartholomew hopes to find the woman he intends to marry. Their lodgings in a friary prove unsafe when they discover that one of its guests has been murdered.
The victim possessed the Hugh Chalice, a revered relic with a violent history. Drawn into the cathedral city's competing religious and civic interests, Bartholomew and Michael encounter corruption, hidden loyalties and further deaths as they trace who wanted the chalice—and what its supposed sanctity is concealing.