This richly imagined tale takes readers to a tiny German town in the time of "the burnings, " when pious and heretic alike became victims of witch-hunting zealots. A charismatic Inquisitor brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. In the midst of this nightmare, a doubting priest and an unloved wife--a secret friend of the recently martyred William Tyndale--hear another Voice and discover the power of love over fear.