The succession to the crown of England is left in doubt after the heir apparent to the throne dies in theWhite Shipdisaster in 1120. Eighteen years later, in 1138, this lack of heir causes Henry I's daughter, Maud, and nephew, Stephen, to compete for the throne. Church politics see Philip, a monk, elected as the new prior of Kingsbridge, which leaves him indebted to Archdeacon, and soon to be Bishop, Waleran. Lady Aliena of Shiring rejects the marriage proposal of William Hamleigh, and Tom Builder and his family are left destitute when William Hamleigh dismisses them from building his house. While in the forest, they meet Ellen and Jack, a mother and son living free in the woods. After the death of Tom's wife, Agnes, in childbirth, and the abandoning of the newborn, the group end up at Shiring Castle just as it is attacked by the ever ambitious Hamleighs.

In Winchester, Aliena appeals to the king for clemency for her father, but Bartholomew is beheaded publicly anyway, and Richard is offered a knighthood. Aliena then starts a fleece middleman business to help earn money for Richard's expenses. Tom, Philip and William find themselves in a standoff over access to the Shiring quarry, and Jack is injured in a duel with Walter. Waleran and Regan plot to have the cathedral moved from Kingsbridge to Shiring, and invite the king to Kingsbridge to observe the feast day of St. Adolphus. Despite his injury, Jack's artistic talents take hold as he carves and paints a statue to honour the cathedral's patron saint. After Philip recruits peasants to assist with building, King Stephen visits the cathedral work site but collapses in a nightmare-induced fit before the statue.