An honest and straightforward boy, Clemo grows up in the Wye Valley in Henry VIII's reign. Working on the family farm and at a foundry, he is also attracted by the serenity of the Cistercian Abbey at Tintern, but family tragedies and secrets change his life, and, like Dick Whittington, he leaves to seek his fortune in London. He is welcomed by the family of the lively and beautiful Alice who help him to become an agent of the Imperial Ambassador. A visit to Waverley Abbey, near Farnham reminds him of his earlier dreams of Tintern and Clemo has choices to make—town or country, monk or businessman? Which calling will he follow, and where does Alice fit in?