absence of Muman's Chief Brehon, Colgu immediately dispatched Fidelma and Eadulf; upon their arrival, they learned to their shock that their companion Gorman, who had been found at the scene of the crime, was being held as the chief suspect and that the Ui Fidgente religious, led by the vicious and vindictive Abbot Nannid of Mungairit, were demanding Gorman's death as punishment according to the Penitentials. With the backing of both Prince Donennach and the Ui Fidgente Chief Brehon Faolchair, Fidelma and Eadulf immediately began an investigation, knowing that any misstep on Fidelma's part could not only result in Gorman's execution but also spark both a civil upheaval within the Ui Fidgente and a war against Cashel (see Penance of the Damned). In November 671, just before the eve of the feast of Samhain, Eadulf and Aidan discovered a man murdered in an unlit pyre, dressed in the robes of a religieux and killed by the ritualistic "three deaths". When a strange woman known as "Brancheó" appeared in a raven-feather cloak foretelling of the ancient gods returning to exact revenge upon the mortal world, she was quickly branded a suspect. In their search for the killer, Sister Fidelma and Eadulf discovered that their investigation was linked to a book stolen from the Papal Secret Archives which could destroy the New Faith in the Five Kingdoms (see Night of the Lightbringer). As 671 drew to a close, Fidelma traveled to the Abbey of Finnbarr on a personal secret mission to question the abbot, but found that he had been murdered and the suspect, a young girl, had fled. In spite of Fidelma's refusal to reveal her real purposes (which she had sworn an oath to not reveal) to Eadulf and her other companions, they agreed to accompany her on this investigation. However, vicious rumors began to circulate of a plot by Fidelma's family, the Eoghannacht, to murder the High King and kidnap his wife, and Fidelma's refusal to confide even in Eadulf meant that not only that Fidelma's life was in danger but also that she would be truly on her own to face what was to happen (see Bloodmoon). The year 672 proved to be another year of mystery and political intrigue for Fidelma and Eadulf. In February, Fidelma and Eadulf were traveling from the Abbey of Lios Mhor back to Cashel when they reached the village of Cloichin just