Hugh de Cressi and Red Eve flee from Blythburgh, England to avoid her arranged marriage to the French aristocrat Edmund Acour, Lord of Cattrina. Red Eve was "one of the greatest heiresses in East Anglia," the daughter of Sir John, the Knight of Clavering.Hugh was only a merchant's son, but they were childhood sweethearts. Acour (Edmund of Noyon) was a Norman spy plotting against King Edward, and proof of this was discovered when his correspondence with King Philip of France was intercepted. Hugh rode to London to alert the King, and in the meantime Edmund Acour drugged Eve and forced her to marry him. The ceremony was interrupted by Hugh, and Acour escaped to France.Hugh de Cressi goes off to war and is knighted, and the English take Calais. Acour escapes him by switching his armor with another man at the battle at Crecy to avoid de Cressi's vengeance. Acour flees to Genoa, then Venice, and Hugh follows. When Hugh finally confronts his nemesis, there are supernatural rumblings and a mysterious plague--the beginning of the black plague.I won't spoil the ending by telling you if Hugh finally defeats Edmund Acour and marries Red Eve.Haggard is known for his swashbuckling adventures and this one travels delightfully through fourteenth century Europe. However, if you don't like the old-fashioned writing style of authors like Dumas or Hugo you won't like it.