The novel takes place in the 11th century, the main event being the Norman conquest of England. On the caravan route in Asia Minor, a warrior of the English king Harold, a Norman minstrel, a fugitive German monk and a beautiful Greek woman meet. Their road adventures are interspersed with the protagonist's memories of the patriarchal life of the English before the Battle of Hastings. The author plays an exciting game with the reader and sometimes weaves threads of fiction into his canvas, turning a historical novel into a kind of fantasy.