I never expected thriller writer, Minette Walters, to move into the historical novel field, but I'm delighted to say she has succeeded. This story is set in the early 14th Century at the time of one of the plagues of the Black Death swept the country. In the heart of Dorset is the small village with it's moated manner, which is the centre stage of the gripping tale. In many ways it's also the story of the appalling manner in which ordinary people, usually referred to as serfs, were kept in the way we now called slavery. It's moral tone and in many ways I think the true background of the tale is in the truth that the better you treat your workers, the greater success you'll have. The survival of the village, withdrawn behind the moat with the help of the the Lady of the Manor, is because of this withdrawal and their better health because of the conditions of work which was initiated by Lady Anne, much against the wishes of her horrific husband, who fortunately dies early on in the story. His death, while away for the Manor allows the village to escape from the Black Death, for the moment, as this tale is to be continued. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who likes well-drawn characters, a good historic tale and a excellent moral message which is as relevant today as it was then.