The year is 1348. Haunted by the blood on his hands, an archer named Edmund returns home from the French wars to a life of serfdom. His brutal elder brother doesn't want a hero of CrÔecy on his doorstep. The woman he loves yearns for a wider world, the ambitious wise-woman challenges him in ways he deplores, and an abused servant-girl is a thorn to his flesh. The priest denounces his mercy killings. Yet, as the days pass, Edmund is impelled to fight for the impossible: love and redemption. Then plague arrives in the village and everything changes.