The immortal knight pursues the worst serial killer in history. AD 1440, Brittany. Scores of children have gone missing from the countryside around Nantes. The commoners know who is to blame. But they dare not speak up, for they suspect their very own lord, the Marshal of France and Lieutenant-General of Brittany, the Baron Gilles de Rais. As Richard investigates the monstrous crimes, he is haunted by the recent crushing defeats at the hands of an insane French peasant girl called Joan of Arc. But what is the strange connection between the Maiden of Orléans and the depraved Baron de Rais? Richard hates her for what she has done to the armies of England but was she ultimately just another victim of the evil lord? To discover the truth, Richard must investigate the sinister tales of demon summoning, odious heresies, and sadistic murders while confronting his own catastrophic failures in the wars against the inspired armies of France.