With the smokestacks and water mills of industry closing in, the Cragg Vale Coiners, lead by their King David Hartley, flooded the Yorkshire Moors with clipped and forged coins, nearly undermining the economy of the entire country. Across the wild moors they create a little kingdom, enforcing their authority with threats and violence but giving money to the poor and the needy. An excise officer and a lawyer are determined to bring them down.

An incredibly hefty and powerful evocation of time and place and voice, centering around the charismatic and visionary King David Hartley.