Richard Cooper's novel based on the same storyline was published around the time of the UK television screenings. The narrative generally follows that of the TV serial, the major exception being that Nell is not shot during the firefight at the cottage. Instead Arthur leads her, Gervase and Julia to the Resistance HQ in the Wasteland. Since Gervase and Julia are not then tracked by Colley and his men, culminating in the death of Fenn in the ambush, Gervase is put on trial solely for having joined the Order and denounced Owen. At the climax of the story, Mordrin is shot by the mortally wounded Owen inside the Knights' chapel at the headquarters, rather than in the surrounding forest. These differences and other details – such as that the Knights wear black but otherwise conventional battledress – suggest that the book was written before production and that the television script was therefore expanded to fit the desired length.