Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.

Crispin and Troth, wandering the French countryside following the death of their beloved mentor, Bear, find refuge at a convent, and when Troth decides to stay, Crispin continues on alone, joining a band of traveling musicians who he soon realizes are murderous thieves.