Robin of Sherwood

Robin of Loxley and his cousin Much are arrested in Sherwood Forest for killing one of the King's deer. They are imprisoned by Guy of Gisburne in the Sheriff of Nottingham's dungeon where they meet up with a motley bunch of criminals who are destined to become the first of the Merry Men. After they escape into Sherwood Forest, Robin is approached by Herne The Hunter and told that it is his destiny to fight the Norman invaders. The Sheriff knows all about Herne - he holds a silver arrow that is reputed to have once belonged to Herne himself.

The Sheriff and his brother, the Abbot, upset over the activities of Robin and his men arrange a fayre, including an archery contest, in the Castle. He offers the Silver Arrow of Herne to whomever wins the contest, something he is sure will tempt Robin out of the forest and into his grasp. After this fails to end up with Robin's capture their last resort is the Sorcerer, Simon De Belleme, a worshipper of the dark arts, who wants Maid Marion as his bride. He agrees to use his sorcerous powers to capture, or kill, the men of Sherwood Forest as long as the Sheriff and the Abbot promise Marion to him.

The Sheriff, Abbot Hugo and Guy are in the hamlet of Elsdon presiding over the trial of Jennet and Thomas, a husband and wife accused of witchcraft. Robin has a dream that leads him to make decisions that the rest of the Merry Men question the logic of, but his dreams lead them to a disguised tax collector and some hidden taxes. The Sheriff is furious about the loss of his taxes and wants Robin's head on a plate. Loathe to send Guy and his men into Sherwood to die he comes up with a cunning plan to get to the outlaws.

Little John is captured by Guy, who has a plan to finally get his hands on all the Merry Men. After a prophecy from Herne, Robin thinks that Little John is the prisoner he is told he must rescue. While they are planning to rescue John from Nottingham another John turns up, Prince John. He has his own agenda and his own hooded prisoner, someone whose identity will be a big surprise to one of Robin's band. Robin realises that this hooded prisoner is the person who is in the prophecy and that freeing them from Prince John's grasp will be a daunting prospect.

The Sheriff returns to Nottingham, passing through Sherwood. Will decides that Robin's plans to ambush him is not good enough and attempts to attack the Sheriff and his men with only Little John, Nasir and Friar Tuck at his side. It all goes badly wrong - Tuck is badly injured and Robin is furious, a fury that grows when he discovers the attitude of the local villagers they take Tuck to. Back in Nottingham the Sheriff is approached by Joshua De Talmont, a Jewish moneylender, demanding the money that the Sheriff owes him. The Sheriff is not best pleased about being challenged for money he owes and 'suggests' to Guy that a tide of anti-Jewish sentiments may strike Nottingham, as it has in London and other towns, and lead to the death of De Talmont in the riots.

Gisburne, left in charge of Nottingham by the Sheriff, hires a group of vicious mercenaries to hunt down the outlaws. Unfortunate timing for Robin and company, as it is the time of the Blessing when no blood can be shed or the villagers will not have a good harvest that year. The outlaws must use cunning and trickery to defeat Gisburne and the mercenaries.

After the death of Loxley, the outlaw band have gone their separate ways. Robert of Huntingdon, the man called by Herne, has rejected his calling, saying no one else could be The Hooded Man. He cannot escape his destiny. Robert's father, the Earl of Huntingdon, hosts a party to gain favour with vile, border lord Owen of Clun. Marion of Leaford attends with her father, who has bought her a pardon from the king. Clun makes unseemly advances toward Marion. When no one else will help her, Robert, to his father's horror, defends her in a swordfight against Clun. When Clun kidnaps Marion, Robert must reassemble the outlaw band to rescue her.

Robert of Huntingdon and the reformed Merry Men set out to rescue Marion from Clun, and Huntingdon claims the mantle of Robin of Sherwood.

Before his death, Loxley gave Albion to Marion. She kept it safe for a year at the home of her father, who begged her to have no more to do with the outlaws. She attempts to give it to Robert, but he still says no one could take Loxley's place. When the band tries to stop a torturer en route to Nottingham, Robert is wounded by a poisoned arrow and falls gravely ill. After returning home from going to aid Robert, Marion and Albion are taken by the Sheriff. Although Gisburne is sure Robert of Huntingdon is the new Robin Hood, no one will believe him. Robert is able to masquerade as a shallow, young nobleman and make friends with the Sheriff as part of a scheme to free Marion. After the true powers of Albion are revealed, Robert, whom everyone now calls Robin, knows he is truly Herne's son.