Elsabeth Soesten is always in trouble. Her comrade-in-arms Brother Hieronymus has just dragged her into a deal with the Abbot of Friuli to recover stolen church property, but what began as a simple good deed (with a bit of church coin as incentive) soon finds the pair swept up into a conspiracy against the Prince-Bishop of Bremen. Trapped between an agent of the Bishop on one hand and the Abbot on the other, the only way out is to unravel the Abbot's plans and find out just what they have to do with the reclusive Baron of Leyen. And just maybe they can work their way out of the whole mess with heads still attached and purses a little fatter.