In the small English town of Manningtree in 1643, when a newcomer who identifies himself as the Witchfinder General arrives, Rebecca West must quell the rumors of covens, pacts, and bodily wants to save the town's women. England, 1643. In Manningtree, a town depleted of men since the wars began, Rebecca West is fatherless and husbandless. The drudgery of her days is livened only occasionally by her infatuation with the handsome young clerk John Edes....