The action of the series unfolds in the fictional English town of Kingsbridge in the 1300s, when the country stood on the brink of the Hundred Years’ War with France and faced outbreaks of the plague in Europe. In the markets of the prosperous town of Kingsbridge, rumors spread that the King of England died under mysterious circumstances. The civil war has ended, but the town’s economic position allows it to remain a reliable source of revenue for the treasury.