THE YEAR IS 1348 AND THE BLACK DEATH IS RAVAGING ENGLAND.For Brother Maurice, a monk and physician, the disease is the most terrifying he's ever seen. But Maurice soon learns of an even more deadly threat: the exanimate Mortecarni. After his first unexpected encounter with the creatures, Maurice is pulled into a world of savagery and secrecy.As he travels across the country, investigating both the plague and the Mortecarni, Maurice questions how such unholy suffering is possible. When his own family is struck down, his beliefs falter. Can he regain his faith and save both England and himself?