The novel is divided into three parts: the first part leads up to the
Battle of Hattin; the second part, set four years later, shows Philip d'Aubigny's escape from captivity at the time of the
Third Crusade, and the final part deals with Philip's reclaiming his ancestral lands in the
Welsh Marches. At the beginning of the novel, Outremer has been in existence for nearly one hundred years since the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. However, the Emir
Saladin is uniting the Islamic forces against the Crusader states. The great military orders of the
Knights Templar and
Knights Hospitaller are eager for the fray, but others are concerned that there are not enough Christian knights in Outremer to form an effective field army while continuing to garrison the castles that protect the Latin Kingdom. Saladin invades Outremer and besieges
Tiberias.
Guy of Lusignan, the charming but weak-willed King of Jerusalem, is swayed by poor advice to march the assembled forces of Outremer to the relief of the city across a waterless plain at the height of summer. Debilitated by the desert conditions before the battle even begins, the Christian army suffers a devastating defeat at Hattin. Most of the weakly-held fortresses of Outremer fall to Saladin and Jerusalem is taken by the Muslim armies. These events are shown through the experiences of Philip d'Aubigny. Philip is a young nobleman who was born in Outremer, descendant of a Norman knight who rode with the
First Crusade. Philip's father is a Baron of the High Court of Jerusalem and lord of the castle of
Blanch Garde. Philip befriends a Turk, Jusuf, whom he rescues from robbers, and later impresses the king by his superior swordsmanship in a duel, gaining his knighthood. Philip overhears much discussion about the complex political and military situation. He suffers on the desert march, sees his father die in battle and is taken prisoner. Philip has a relatively easy captivity in the household of Jusuf's father
Usamah in
Damascus, but chafes to be free. With the Hospitallers help he and his friend Gilbert escape over the walls. They make their way to
Krak, the great Hospitaller fortress, after an encounter with the
Assassins. Philip commits himself to the service of
Richard of England and during the campaigns of the Third Crusade becomes one of the most celebrated knights of Christendom. In the final chapters of the novel, Philip and his company of Crusaders arrive in Britain, where he takes part in a
jousting tournament at
Cardiff Castle. He learns from his squire's father that his family's
castle at Llanstephan has been taken by an ally of
Prince John's and leads a raiding party to win it back. A notable aspect of the book is the bringing into contrast of the refinements of the
medieval Islamic civilisation, which had been adopted by the Outremer noblemen, with the comparatively stark and crude European living conditions of the time, and the suggestion that the returning Crusaders brought Eastern standards of luxury and culture to the West. ==Characters==