This is book 1 of the "Brother Cadfael" series.

This note contains spoilers for the book.

Start of the Brother Cadfael series, and a fine start it is. A fine series, too.

This one is about plundering the relics (that is, the body) of a saint from her grave in Wales for the greater glory of the abbey in Shresbury. Various things go wrong, and Brother Cadfael has a hand in straightening about everything out. The final outcome isn't actually known to the abbey officials, but it is to the people in Wales.