The horrors of the Crusades have left their mark on Templar William de Mandeville, but in returning home to England he only encounters more woe when he finds his father and older brother have blackened the family name. Determined to set things right, William saves a peasant boy from his sadistic brother's clutches and flees to Portugal. From here he plans to once again fight alongside his Christian brothers in the hopes of retrieving the holy cross of Christ, which the Saracens have stolen. Surely, such an act will restore his good name. But can he overcome his past failings as a warrior and survive long enough to find the sacred relic amid the burning city of Al-Usbuna? plunges headlong into the religious and political pandemonium of the twelfth-century, cleverly depicting both sides of the Crusades in a way that doesn't set one above the other.