All the major characters of Robin Hood lore appear in the pages of this book. The central theme is the same as that of the legend: good prevailing over evil. People oppressed by cruel and corrupt officials can survive, and even help others do so, by making a sanctuary and community. Banding together, honing their skills and planning well, they can even carry the resistance into the enemy's territory and undermine him by making him seem ridiculous.

Robin, the leader of the band (called "Outcasts" rather than outlaws in Robin of Sherwood), is a very young man when he joins them. Forced to flee when the Sheriff of Nottingham's men catch his father with a stag he has just shot, Robin runs into the forest. There he hides in a cave, where a white-haired girl finds him and introduces him to the group of...