There have been queer tales told of that shield, and maybe there are queerer yet to be told. It has been stamped for good or evil on this church, and on this town, for centuries, and every tavern loafer will talk to you about the ''nebuly coat''...

A young architect is sent to the remote Dorset town of Cullerne to supervise restoration work on its ancient abbey church. He is soon caught up in local life and the haunting rumours that surround the claim to the title of Lord Blandamer, whose escutcheon is the nebuly coat of the title.