In the Vale takes us from London to the Vale of Glamorgan and outwards into the social ferment and bloody turmoil of the Napoleonic ers.
By his rushed marriage to Sarah, nurse-governess of the two infant children of the widowed master of Ash Hall, a "big house" in Ystradowen, George, an impecunious curate, is strangely gifted the rectory and living of the ancient church at Llantrithyd. Their life together is intertwined with that of Sarah's former employer, Richard Aubrey, youngest son of the great landowning family whose grand Tudor mansion neighbours the church.
Life in the Vale, dictated by the vicissitudes of the season and the rhythm of labour on the land, is torn across by sickness and sudden death, while the toll of maimed and dead from battle and disease rises inexorably across Europe and further afield.
When duty calls, Richard becomes commandant of the Glamorgan Militia, tasked with keeping the peace in troubled times and defending the realm under threat of invasion from France. George, driven by loyalty, would join the regiment as chaplain and Richard grudgingly allows him for a time to leave Sarah and their children – but at what cost...
