Robin Of Sherwood: Series 3

A year has passed since Robin of Loxley's death; the band of outlaws has scattered, and the people's enemies savor their triumph. Now, a Norman nobleman and Earl's son, Robert of Huntingdon, has been chosen by Herne the Hunter to continue Robin's work and lead the resistance in Sherwood. Though Huntingdon is appalled by the oppression and cruelty he witnesses daily, he is unwilling to relinquish his privileges (and responsibilities) to lead the life of a poor outcast in Sherwood. But after an ill-fated party brings Marion of Leaford to Huntingdon Castle - where she catches the eye of the dangerous and rapacious Lord Owen of Clun - the young heir must decide whether to follow a new destiny, as the Hooded Man, before time runs out for the abducted Lady Marion.

Robert of Huntingdon gathers the outlaws back together one by one to rescue Marion out of Owen of Clun' clutches. Tuck he finds in Sherwood forest, Little John and Much are shepherds near Hathersage and Scarlett a drunk in Lichfield. Unknown to them, the final member of their band, Nasir, is already at Clun Castle, fighting for his life as a gladiator.

Rumours are spreading through Nottinghamshire, that Robin Hood is back from the dead with a vengeance and that the band of outlaws once again operates in Sherwood Forest. Suspecting that the Lady Marion might try to communicate with her old friends, the Sheriff sets a watch upon her home of Leaford Grange, and when a severe injury to the outlaws' leader moves Marion to risk helping him, she is caught and taken with the sword Albion to Nottingham Castle. Robert of Huntingdon must then use cunning and subterfuge - and, perhaps, the mysterious power of Albion - to rescue Lady Marion from her captors, while keeping his secret identity as Robin Hood intact.

Friar Tuck saves a young woman from being attacked in the forest and brings her back to the outlaws' camp. In the middle of the night, the woman wakes Robert and identifies herself as the daughter of his godfather, Lord Agrivaine, explaining that the two of them, alone, must go to him at once at Caerleon Castle. In Caerleon, the dying Agrivaine explains that he is leaving Robert a great inheritance, but in order to get it, he first must defend it - for, as they speak, a group of robbers and villains is approaching the castle, determined to steal its treasure.

The King has had enough of Robert de Rainault and hires a new Sheriff of Nottingham, Philip Mark, who arrives together with his masked henchman, Sarak. After driving de Rainault out of Nottingham Castle, the new Sheriff then announces that a group of random Nottinghamshire villagers will be hanged every day until Robin Hood decides to give himself up.

Will and Much run into a group of lepers traveling through the forest, and Will becomes convinced that he is contaminated and doomed to a horrible death. Meanwhile, the other outlaws protect an elderly pilgrim from being killed by robbers and, as the woman is sick and alone, they accompany her on her journey to a local abbey, which houses a miraculous healing relic of the saint Ciricus. Convinced, however, that she will die before they reach the abbey and its magical cross, the lady asks Friar Tuck to hear her final confession. Her secrets - and her identity - place a terrible burden upon Tuck, binding him by the seal of confession to keep silent information that would change one of the outlaw band's lives forever.

Much falls into a forester's trap and is badly wounded. Trying to find a village with a physician, the outlaws become lost and are finally led to a small, unfamiliar village called Cromm Cruac. The villagers welcome them warmly, and at first nothing seems out of the ordinary. Soon enough, however, the outlaws observe that there are no children in the village and that Much - too quickly recovered to be normal - behaves as though he's been brainwashed. And when Will encounters and joyously reunites with his long-dead wife Elena, the outlaws realize that something is seriously wrong with Cromm Cruac.

King John wearies of having Nottingham's tax money constantly stolen by Robin Hood and his gang; realising that Robin Hood thrives because the common people trust and support him, the King sets out to tarnish Robin Hood's reputation and thus turn the people against him. John orders his man Roger de Carnac to gather a gang of outlaw "impersonators" who, dressed as Robin Hood and the Merry Men, begin to kill, burn, and rob their way trough the villages of Nottinghamshire.

Much, trying to assist a sick relative in Nottingham, is caught by Gisburne, thrown into the Nottingham Castle dungeons, and sentenced to be hanged. Meanwhile, the legendary outlaw Adam Bell returns to Nottingham, causing mayhem as he kidnaps the Sheriff's young nephew Martin. Realising there is only one man who can outwit Adam Bell, the Sheriff, against all of his principles, decides to make a deal with Robin Hood: "Your half-wit for my brat."

The King decides to divorce his queen and marry the 12-year-old Isabella of Angoulême, moving the rejected, outraged Queen Hadwisa to plot with her relatives for the King's deposition. At the same time, the outlaws save the life of a man named Arthur, who arrives in Sherwood chased by a gang of soldiers. Arthur claims that he's a poor steward, falsely accused of stealing from his master; however, with his fine manners and knowledge of Latin and poetry, the outlaws soon conclude that Arthur is not who he claims to be. With the Sheriff badly injured, Gisburne is coaxed by Hadwisa into joining the Gloucesters' conspiracy, and the outlaws must determine their newest member's true identity and then unravel the royals' scheme before it ends in assassination.

John decides to marry his long-time girlfriend Meg and leave the band of outlaws. The wedding plans are halted, however, when Lord Edgar, Robert's uncle, reaches Sherwood Forest with the news that Robert's father has been accused of treason by the King. An anonymous informer has testified that he overheard the Earl of Huntingdon hiring a witch to curse the King; the King, being inexplicably ill, comes to believe that his illness is indeed due to witchcraft. John orders the Earl imprisoned, and Robert must clear his father's name before it's too late.

The Sheriff is ordered by King John to collect grain from the villages of Nottinghamshire, to supply the troops for an upcoming campaign in Wales. Knowing that the people won't survive the winter without their hard-earned harvest, the outlaws steal back the grain the next morning, just as the King's man, William Brewer, comes to collect it. In desperation, the Sheriff blames the whole fiasco on Gisburne, who flees in an angry panic and leaves the Sheriff to fulfill Brewer's command: produce Gisburne's head, or lose his own. But elsewhere in the shire, an old enemy with a new agenda schemes against the outlaws, taking over Grimstone Abbey and using it as a prison for the abducted women and children of Wickham village. As Gisburne flees to Grimstone to find sanctuary, pursued by the furious Sheriff, and the outlaws follow the trail of the missing villagers, the scene is set for a confrontation between good and evil, with the future of England at stake.

The purpose of Gulnar and his Sons of Fenris is revealed: to bring about the prophesied "Time of the Wolf," an age of famine and destruction in which the followers of Fenris Wolf will reign. To that end, Gulnar uses evil magic to create a copy of Robin Hood, a vicious creature that he unleashes to wreak havoc upon unsuspecting villages. Meanwhile, Marion must decide her course when dreams of dark forces haunt her in Halstead Abbey, while Gisburne, reluctantly initiated into the Sons of Fenris, is forced to choose between anger and honour after the captured Sheriff is marked as a sacrifice. All roads lead to the Ring of the Nine Maidens - where even victory for the outlaws will come with a heavy cost.