On a storm-driven night, wreckers drive a ship onto rocks off the coast of Ireland. An Abbess leading a pilgrimage is killed and the young religieuse with her abducted. An ageing scholar is murdered in the Abbey of Ard Fhearta. Do these events have a connection?Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf go to Ard Fhearta to examine the mystery. But the abbey stands in the territory of the U Fidgente, enemies of Fidelma and her brother, the King of Cashel, and danger threatens Fidelma and Eadulf from the moment of their arrival.What is the link that connects the crimes? Who is the mysterious `master of souls' spreading death and corruption across the land? Has Uaman the Leper, Lord of the Passes, returned from the dead?