Holy Land, 1097 - At the tender age of 12, Giles fitzAlain is forced to leave the Norman monastery he'd called home to join his father Alain de Folliot on the First Crusade. Soon, not only the horrors of a brutal military campaign pose a daily threat to his life, but also a number of dark secrets surrounding the person of his father that pull Giles into a maelstrom of revenge and deceit. Will Giles be able to uncover all the secrets before they succeed in ruining not only his own life, but those of the people he loves as well?