Randall is an unloved and unwanted orphan kennel boy at Arundel Castle. And then, one fateful day, he upsets the new Lord's mettlesome horse.

Against the violent and turbulent backdrop of Norman England, Sutcliff tells the moving story of a young boy who is wagered and won in a game of chess between a lord and a minstrel . . .

Randall is an unloved and unwanted orphan kennel boy at Arundel Castle. And then, one fateful day, he upsets the new Lord's mettlesome horse. Against the violent and turbulent backdrop of Norman England, Sutcliff tells the moving story of a young boy who is wagered and won in a game of chess between a lord and a minstrel...