Two brothers escape the Black Death by skipping forward in time, experiencing six centuries of change in six days.

A tale of self-discovery follows the experiences of a girl who is sent to live in a priory in the wake of a devastating loss, where she develops unexpected talents, reconnects with a friend, and witnesses the approach of the Great Plague.

"Three journeys. One road. England, 1348. A gentlewoman is fleeing an odious arranged marriage, a Scottish proctor is returning home to Avignon and a handsome young ploughman in search of adventure is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. Coming in their direction from across the Channel is the Black Death, the plague that will wipe out half of the population of Northern Europe. As the journey...

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit. For Kivrin, preparing to travel back in time to study one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first...