Saxon England in 1053 is a time of violence, cruelty and ignorance where the strong dominate and mercy and compassion are scarce. Young Gytha longs to leave behind the evil of the world and enter a convent where she can devote herself to learning more about the God who loves even a little slave girl. Instead she lives in a household that scorns the very name of Christ. Gytha's mistress, the Lady Hilda, is an invalid whose afflictions have made her fretful and cross, yet as Gytha lives out her simple faith in service to her mistress, she is able to bring hope and purpose to Hilda's life. When England is defeated in 1066 by William the Conqueror, Gytha and Hilda face their greatest challenge-trusting God when it seems as though He has turned His back on England. Through all of her trials, Gytha learns that God often has a greater work for us to do in the world than out of it.