This is book 5 of the "Brother Cadfael" series.

This note contains spoilers for the book.

A young woman escapes a marriage she doesn't desire, and ends up escaping her guardians as well. An old crusader returns to see to the welfare of his line. A young monk exercises his discretion, and a young boy moves from leper to squire. The fifth Brother Cadfael book.

We spend considerable time in St. Giles, a hospice that serves the lepers and other extreme unfortunates. A young squire falsely accused of theft and murder hides there -- actually mingling with the inhabitants, wearing their clothes, and accepted by them. So far as we know, it works out okay. Of course, in Cadfael's universe, God will see justice done, and contagion isn't very clearly understood. Essentially everybody fears contagion from lepers.