Vigilia del escape ciego

“Someone stopped the abbey clock on purpose. The clockmaker has until dawn to find out why.”

In the abbey, the great steam clock rules the hours of prayer and something more. When the dial seizes at a quarter to six, Anselm, the lame clockmaker with a pewter nut soldered to his temple, finds that the part did not fail from fatigue: a devout hand broke it clean. Between Brother Bartolomé, who demands the escapement be realigned at once, and Sister Melisenda, who knows more than she says, Anselm has until the dawn office to discover what the clock sets in motion when it runs again.