The Sanctuary Sparrow: Sudden drama strikes the Benadictine monastery at Shrewsbury when a young man, pursued by a lynching mob, claims sanctuary just in time to save his life. Cadfael senses the young man's innocence and sets out to solve yet another tangle of human passions where love plays its inevitable part.

The Devil's Novice: The Benedictine monastery at Shrewsbury finds its new novice Meriet Aspley a disturbing presence. Meek and bidable by day, his sleep is rent with nightmares so violent as to earn him the nickname of Devil's Novice. Can Meriet be involved in the nearby disappearance of a superior prelate As events take a sinister turn, it falls to Brother Cadfael to detect the truth behind the young man's predicament.

Dead Man's Ransom: In the battle of Lincoln, the sherrif of Shropshire is captured and the King himself taken prisoner by his enemies. Nothing more natural than that an exchange of prisoners should take place. But before this can be completed, one captive is murdered. And to Brother Cadfael, who notices the evidence of unnatural death, falls the task of gathering enough clues to prove it.