It's 1381 and Beatrice Arrowner is on her way to Ravenscroft Castle on the outskirts of Maldon. Beatrice is meeting clerk Ralph Mortimer for a feast on the green. Nothing can dampen Beatrice's mood as she and Ralph gather with their friends. But the sinister events of the last few days soon cast a cloud over the festivities. Phoebe, a castle maid, has been horribly murdered. Soon there is another death and it seems that the evil spirits which haunt the Midnight Tower are doing their worst. Certain there is a connection between these events and his own search for the legendary Brythnoth's jewelled cross, Ralph knows that this own life is in danger and that the murderer must be one of his close friends. But he can only hunt down the killer with the help of Beatrice - who learns that death is not necessarily the end of existence...