In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound--a hunt in full cry. Pursued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man.

Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith's son, has been accused of robbery and murder. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery--a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging, can stop.

The Sanctuary Sparrow is the seventh book in the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, featuring a "wily veteran of the Crusades." The historical mystery series earned Ellis Peters a Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award--and a legion of devoted fans (Los Angeles Times).