Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a novel based on the fourteenth century romantic poem of the same title. The poem is considered one of the gems of medieval English literature and tells one of the many stories that make up the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Sir Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, gets ensnared in a murderous game of life and death trying to defend the honor of his royal uncle. When it becomes clear that Gawain is the likely loser of this game, Gawain must weigh the meaning of death against the meaning of honor with his own life in the balance.

Over the course of one year, Gawain faces a series of tests of his courage, his ability with a sword and lance, and his chivalry, while an unknown sorceress uses one enchantment after another to undermine his best intentions and the honor of the Knights of the Round Table. In an adventure of the highest order, Gawain's day of judgment arrives when he comes face to face with the Green Knight, guardian of England's forests and the arbiter of Sir Gawain’s fate.