A big wedding is going to be held at Shrewsbury Abbey. It's a bit of a disgrace, though, as the bride is in love with someone else. And the groom is forty years older than the bride and is really only interested in her vast fortune and holdings. The bride, Lady Iveta is in love with one of the groom's attendants, Joscelin, a handsome young man in his early twenties. They have a plan to run away but then Joscelin is framed for theft. He escapes capture and goes and hides in the local leper hospital, Saint Giles.
Lady Iveta loses hope and the wedding is still on. But the morning of the wedding, the groom fails to show. He is found dead, subject of a trip wire that unhorsed him and he was then strangled by his attacker. Since Joscelin is on the loose, naturally everyone assumes he the killer. Unknown to the authorities, Joscelin was in the leper hospital the whole time where he is still hiding with the connivance of the lepers. Fortunately, the murderer was wearing a ring that poked his victim in the neck, leaving a clear mark. All they have to do is find the man who was wearing the ring that matches the mark. Of course, that man has removed his ring. But that is not going to save him. Because sooner or later, someone is bound to notice he has stopped wearing this rather distinctive ring.
Joscelin has not given up his plan to wed the woman he loves. He manages to get a message to her and she comes to join him. But someone either she or he has confided in has betrayed them and Joscelin is again captured. Lucky for them Cadfael has pretty much figured out who the killer really is and will step in to save the day for the lovers.
I enjoyed the story quite a bit even though the killer turns out to be the most logical choice and not much of a surprise. But Cadfael is just a fun character to read about, no matter the mystery he has to solve.
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