It is the Middle Ages, and the Hundred Years War rages on in England and France. Alleyne Edricson, the son of an English landowner, is training as a novice at an abbey. As his training draws to a close, he’s called upon to spend a year in the outside world to decide if he really wants to devote his life to prayer and contemplation.

He quickly meets Hordle John, a fellow novice expelled for misbehavior, and Aylward, a French archer traveling to meet the famous knight Sir Nigel Loring and join his band of archers, the titular White Company. The three decide to travel together, and embark on a series of action-packed adventures across England, France, and Spain.

Doyle was inspired to write about the time period after attending a lecture on the subject. He spent years researching the era, and his careful research is evident in the novel’s detail: period-correct words and names add a flavor of verisimilitude, and nearly all of the people and places in the tale really did exist—and are moreover depicted to a great degree of historical accuracy.