Cuthbert is a youth caught between worlds: Saxon and Norman, forest and castle, loyalty and conscience. On a bright August morning, he spots armed men gathering at Earl Walter of Evesham's stronghold and learns that a sweep against the outlaws may be underway. Tied by blood to the woodland folk yet favored by the earl's household, he warns his mother, hurries through the ancient forest to his cousin Cnut, and helps the band slip away before violence can break out. But the countryside offers no peace for long. When Lady Margaret is suddenly abducted before the castle gates, Cuthbert races to summon the outlaws, and together they spring an ambush that saves the child in a burst of arrows, bold aim, and swift rescue. The deed wins him the earl's gratitude and draws him toward a larger struggle against the brutal Baron of Wortham, but his path soon turns harsher still. Captured and carried east into the desert, Cuthbert survives by patience, disguise, and daring, escapes on a stolen camel, and rides alone through the night before being seized again and dragged toward the Dead Sea, where danger, humiliation, and wonder await. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.