The Great Crusade is over and long forgotten, or so Duncan, son of Murdo, thinks -- until a long-lost relative appears in the Northlands. Returning home to die, his uncle, scarred and bitter from his years in the Holy Land, bears tales of treasure beyond all imagining. Though the holy relic of the Iron Lance had been won and left in the emperor's keeping, there is another even holier relic left to win, one that led the Crusaders to their greatest victory before it mysteriously disappeared. Duncan's uncle claims this relic is none other than the Black Rood -- the prayer-worn, blood-stained remnant of the True Cross. The Rood and its power mean as much to the Cele De, the ancient faith, as to upstart Christianity. And when Duncan's life is shattered by a loss too great for any man to bear alone, he sets sail on his own pilgrimage to the East, following the steps his father, Murdo, took to Byzantium long ago. Accompanied by a disobedient vassal and a most impious monk, he flows the White Priest on a road known to few, and deadly to all but those pure of heart. The gates to the Holy Land are guarded by a magnificent and mysterious company of warrior priests known as the Knights Templar. These fearsome guards hold the key to more than just Duncan's fate -- the very destiny of the West, from the rocky hills of Greece to the heathered moors of Caithness, is in their keeping. Steeped in heroism, mystery, and the lure of lost treasure, The Black Rood continues the epic trilogy of a Sc