The small French town froze in fear - the bloody deeds of the mysterious Tafur knights, rampaging under the patronage of the Dukes Baldwin of Treil and Stephen of Boreas, are terrifying. The knights kill innocents, burn houses, kidnap women - and again and again demand that they be given a certain relic from the Holy Earth. But where does a genuine relic of Christianity come from in a poor outback? Is it really hidden among the trophies of the crusader Hugh de Lock? No one knows about this, not even Hugh himself. However, he will have to establish the truth - otherwise his beautiful young wife will lose her life...