This tale weaves faith, horror, fantasy, and historical detail into the sodden marshes of Mirebridge, where seven women have died in seven weeks beneath the chapel altar—hands consumed by inner fire, eyes turned milky white—while the bells ring day and night untouched by mortal hands. Lord Stephern, a massive knight of a Crusader House bound by oath to the Church, and Sir Bessian, his keen-eyed and articulate companion, arrive at Father Berengar’s summons to conduct a deliberate investigat...