After years of holy war, Sir Aldric wants only to return home to England.

Instead, he is hired to escort a sealed Church caravan across Europe - a convoy said to carry sacred relics from the Crusades. But the wagons are too heavy, the priests too silent, and the smell beneath the canvas is not incense.

When Aldric and his companions discover the truth, their duty becomes a nightmare. The caravan is not carrying relics. It is carrying plague.

To protect the innocent, they must decide whether to obey the Church, honour their contract, or become enemies of the very authority they once served.

As sickness spreads and fear closes city gates, Aldric, Rowan, Yusuf, Tomas, and Brother Matthieu are forced to stand in the place no one else will: between panic and survival.

A dark historical thriller of faith, plague, duty, and impossible conscience, The Caravan of Ash begins The Second Line trilogy - a story of the quiet guardians who hold civilisation together when power fails.