Set in 12th-century England, Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth chronicles the building of the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has knownand the struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, brother against brother.Tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known; of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul; of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame; and of a struggle between good and evil.