Set in the fourteenth century during the Hundred Years' War, this historical novel follows Alleyne Edricson, a young man who leaves a monastery to see the world. He joins a band of English archers, the White Company, led by robust and good-humoured soldiers, and travels with them to France and Spain. The tale mixes battle, loyalty, friendship and romance, and presents a vivid picture of medieval chivalry and soldiering. Doyle himself regarded it as among his best work.