Taking up with a 12 year old French princess, King John has annulled his marriage to Queen Hadwisa, who vows revenge against her former husband and the new queen, Isabella. Her plan is to have Isabella murdered while on a pilgrimage and make it appear to have been done by Robin Hood. Hadwisa's family believe they have enough support among the barons to depose King John and replace him with a new young man who claims to be Arthur of Brittany, John's nephew. While Arthur infiltrates the outlaw band, Gisburne becomes involved in the plot. Gisburne is only too eager to advance his position and finish off Robin Hood all at the same time. The Sheriff, however knows that "if Queen Isabella dies, we shall ALL hang," but gravely ill from a dog bite, he is unable to stop Gisburne.

The Sheriff is ordered by the King to collect grain from the villages of Nottingham, as more provisions are needed for the troops in France. Knowing that the villagers will not survive the winter without their hard-earned grain, the outlaws secretly steal the grain back during the night, causing the Sheriff a lot of embarrassment when the King's men come to collect it in the morning. In desperation, the Sheriff blames the whole fiasco on Gisburne, resulting in Gisburne running away and a price being put on his head. Seeking sanctuary, Gisburne flees to Grimstone Abbey, but is not greeted by monks at the door.