The anonymous monk"s interest had begun at another abbey, in Reading, where he had been visiting. Within the imposing building"s rough flint walls, in the shadows of a virtually unlit room, he met the resident brothers. Among them was one who immediately stuck out as unusual – a monk who, though now dressed in the same hooded robes as the rest, had once led a very different life. In hushed tones, this man explained how he had become a monk by accident.