Aware of Aella's skills, the monks of Lindisfarne commission him to make the cover of the Gospel of St. John as a gift for Cuthbert. Impressed by the masterpiece, Ecgfrith's successor, King Aldfrith, sends Aella to Ireland to learn to read and write.
Soon, Aella befriends a fellow student, learns to illuminate manuscripts, and falls in love. But can he achieve his dreams, and wed the love of his life?