After the passing of the only legitimate heir to the English throne, the succession to the reign will lead to a long war known as The Anarchy as King Henry's daughter Maud and nephew Lord Stephen compete for the crown. Church is no foreign to politics and Philip, a monk, will learn it the hard way: after being elected prior with the help of Deacon Waleran Bigod, he will soon find himself indebted to the man and called upon it.

Tom, together with Alfred and stepson Jack, gets the chance to make his dream of building a cathedral true when a fire destroys Kingsbridge church. Prior Philip finds himself caught between Bishop Waleran and the Hamleighs as both ambition Shiring Castle. William takes revenge on Aliena and Richard in the form of a brutal attack but the Aliena comes out of it stronger and promises her father to regain what was taken from them. Kingsbridge is rocked by the accusation of Ellen being a witch.

Aliena protests against her father's execution and starts a fleece business with the hope to make enough money to help Richard become a knight. Prior Philip and William Hamleigh have a conflict of interests over access to stone in the Shiring quarry. Jack's artistic talents stand out as he begins to carve a statue to honour St. Adolphus and Kingsbridge's cathedral relic. Upon a visit to the cathedral worksite, King Stephen collapses in a fit of terror.

When William applies to bear his father's title of Earl of Shiring, he finds out there's a mysterious knight who stands as a rival for the Earldom. King Stephen sends an assassin tohug Jack, deeply frightened by the boy's appearance. Both King Stephen and Maud's leaders are being taken hostage during the battle that confronts them. Waleran tells Maud that Philip is the one who betrayed Earl Bartholomew and the Prior is tortured into a confession.

Waleran and Regan Hamleigh put their minds together to find a way to remain on the winning side of the war and they come up with the idea of a prisoner exchange. Despite Tom's efforts for Jack and Alfred to be friends, their rivalry over work and their feelings for Aliena are too big of an obstacle. Decided to ruin Aliena's success, William decides to attack Kingsbridge as a way to stop the fleece fair. Both the Hamleighs and Prior Philip are granted rights over Shiring land but not for free.

When Richard returns from war he finds Aliena ruined and not longer able to support his knighthood. To make things worse, Aliena has to choose between her love for Jack and the promise she made to her father. Alfred offers his services as master builder to Prior Philip and as consequence, a disaster at Kingsbridge building site follows. Waleran takes advantage of it to remove Prior Philip from his position. Regan Hamleigh finds a way to force Waleran to speak to the King in behalf of her son's long-delayed Earldom.

As a consequence of his journeys, Jack has figured out a way to fulfill Tom Builder's dream of building a cathedral filled with light. Aliena is able to find Jack by tracking the trail of his carvings. Waleran offers Philip a new position at the price of always doing his will. Regan and William can't stand the sight of a prosperous Kingsbridge and they plan to attack the town but they are counteracted by Richard, Jack and Philip.

Eight years have passed and Jack has become obsessed with the idea of building the cathedral which leaves him little time or energy for anything else. Aliena, in turn, remains fixated about recovering her family's right over the distant Earldom of Shiring which has made her marry Alfred, despite she hates the man. Waleran and Alfred plot a plan to get rid of Jack once and for all; it is carried out successfully until some evidence surfaces and ends up fixing all wrongs.