The Devil's Novice

In the autumn of 1140, a priestly emissary carrying messages for King Stephen vanishes on the road outside the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury. Within the abbey's own walls, Brother Cadfael has a nearer concern: Meriet, a proud and secretive nineteen-year-old novice whose nights are so wracked by terrible dreams that his cries have earned him the nickname "the Devil's Novice."

Everyone assumes Meriet's torment is the guilt of a troubled conscience, and when he becomes the chief suspect in the emissary's disappearance, the case against him seems to write itself. Only Cadfael suspects that Meriet's passion, not any evil intent, is what has driven him to the edge, and sets out to prove it before the young man's silence costs him his life.