In 1204 A.D., Theophilos, jester and agent for the Fools' Guild, is sent to Toulouse with his jester wife, infant daughter and young apprentice with one simple mission - get the current Bishop to quietly retire so that the position can be filled with one more sympathetic to the Guild's goals. Arriving just before Christmas, they quickly learn that the Bishop is in some hot water with a man widely known as the local money lender. A man who, a day after pressing the Bishop particularly hard, is found floating face down in a tanner's vat.

Now, with time running out for him to accomplish their mission and thus protect the Guild, Theophilos has but one option left: find out what actually happened the night that the Moneylender of Toulouse ended up so spectacularly dead.