Abbess Helewise is struggling to keep the Abbey going through a brutal winter, and in the midst of this hardship, her son returns after 20 years in desperate need of help. Then a man is found strangled, and the next day her son flees. Helewise and Josse d'Acquin must now investigate the past - to a time before Helewise took the veil. Were her handsome husband her enigmatic father-in-law all that they seemed? And can she prevent another terrible murder - or will the sins of the fathers be laid upon her innocent son?