The sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. Kingsbridge, 1327: two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge - and this time the descendants of Aliena and Jack, and others find themselves at the crossroads of new ideas - medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice - and there are those who are determined to cling fiercely to the old ways.On the day after Hallowe'en, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. In the forest, they witness the murder of two men. As adults, their lives become intertwined by desire, determination, avarice and retribution. They will experience the worst natural disaster to befall mankind - the Black Death - and they will also experience prosperity, famine and war. Yet they will always live under the shadow of the unexplained killing they witnessed on that fateful childhood day...