A morbid taste for bones: When a young monk claims to see visions of St. Winifred, Cadfael and a party from Shrewsbury Abbey trek to Wales to excavate her holy relics and are met with much hostility. The raven in the foregate: Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest earns the scorn of all his parishioners. After refusing to baptize the illegitimate baby of a local woman, the priest is found dead in the river. The rose rent: A beautiful and wealthy young widow donates the house she shared with her beloved husband to Shrewsbury Abbey, asking only for the annual rent of one white rose from its garden.