In which a beleaguered company takes refuge in a stoutly defended manor, brooding over wounds, whispered fears, and the ominous shadow cast by a relentless foe known as the Black Arrow. Amidst this tense vigil, young Richard Shelton wrestles with grim suspicions and half-revealed truths as he seeks word from a dying soldier and contemplates the heavy obligations that fate and family have set upon his shoulders.