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 does not want a hero on his doorstep. The priest denounces his mercy killings. 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. 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.