Is the man simply drunk or does his tottering gait suggest something more sinister? When he collapses in front of the two sisters on that dark, wet night, the women guess, rightly, that he's been poisoned. So begins this gripping tale set in Scotland in the 1620s. The body of the victim is found in the house of Alexander Seaton, a fallen minister whose clandestine love affair has left him disgraced. He sets out to solve the crime, embarking on a journey where he encounters a witch hunt, extreme religious prejudice, cruelty, and the darkness in men's souls. At the same time, it is a personal quest that leads Seaton to rediscover his faith in God and his belief in himself.