The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Makaryk, Nathan. Nottingham. Forge, 2019. First Edition.

Part One of Nottingham titled, "A Wolf in Lion’s Clothing,” begins by introducing several of the main characters, Robin of Locksley, William de Wendenal, Arabel de Burel, Guy of Gisbourne, and Lady Marion Fitzwalter. The narrations of these characters switch off as Robin and William attempt to rein in an unruly King Richard on the front lines of the Holy War as Lady Marion Fitzwalter attempts to rein in troops of her own. A rag-tag bunch of men who have begun to steal from the rich and give to the poor, but this time they have accidentally stolen from the king himself. Then there is Guy of Gisbourne, who frets over the men criminals he has been forced into recruiting for the Nottingham Guard. William and Robin fail at swaying the king, only to be sent back to England to find a missing shipment of weapons.

Part Two of Nottingham titled, “With Ash as His Ink,” finds all of the main characters back on English soil and in the realm of Nottinghamshire. William and Robin are traversing the forest when unbeknownst to them, they are set upon by the same thieves who have stolen the weapons from the king. While Robin is captured by the bandits and William escapes to make his way towards Nottingham, Arable de Burel and Guy of Gisbourne are dealing with conspirators within the Nottingham Guard. Arable overhears the conspirator, Jon Bassett, and reports him to Guy. Her spying results in her face being marred by Bassett but not before she stumbles into her old lover, William de Wendenal. William has been granted men to retrieve Robin and the group of soldiers and the group of bandits collide at the burned out remnants of Locksley Castle. After a scuffle ensues, Robin and William agree that the issues of the high taxes creating bandits must be solved in order for Richard to be successful at war so the pair decide to fix the issue together, one from inside Nottingham and the other from outside it.

Part Three, titled “A Thieves Bargain,” begins the first conflict of the novel, as Guy of Gisbourne has discovered that the thieves have captured Jon Bassett, which enrages him. The Guard searches everywhere for Bassett but are unable to find him, leading Guy to defy Sheriff Baron Roger de Lacy and order the gangs of Nottingham rounded up and scarred, much to the dismay of Arable and William. Meanwhile, there is unrest at the camp of the bandits as Elena Gamwell resists Robin’s efforts to teach them how to steal in a gentlemanly way and give to the poor. When Marion declares the release of Jon Bassett, she and several other men use scare tactics to make sure the Guard never reveals the location of their camp.

Part Four, titled "A Necessary Cruelty," continues as Arable befriends a noblewoman who may be able to help her escape if necessary and William tries to prevent Sheriff de Lacy from being deposed. In the woods, the bandits continue training and stealing, with Elena and her lover Will growing more and more resistant to Robin as the days pass. Guy of Gisbourne and Sheriff de Lacy begin to have a difficult time placating the lords who refuse to pay taxes so they come up with the solution of robbing the poor of all of their food and supplies. This enrages the bandits and even though Robin leaves them over a misunderstanding with another villager, they plan an attack. Elsewhere, Prince John, brother of King Richard, concocts a scheme that will launch England into chaos, forcing his brother to return home from war.

Part Five, titled "Lex Talionis," has the Nottingham Guard and the outlaws of Sherwood forest colliding in an altercation over supplies in the small village of Bernesdale. It is here where Guy of Gisbourne murders one of the children outlaws, prompting outrage from both sides. Elena and Will Scarlet retaliate by killing Sheriff Roger de Lacy right as he was about to break the law before he was deposed in order to help those in need. His death prompts William to lie about being named the next Sheriff in order to continue de Lacy’s work. When William tells Robin of this development, Robin is mortified William would do such a thing and a large misunderstanding ensues, causing Robin to turn on his friend and pick up the mantle of “Robin Hood.”

Part Six, titled “The Damned Consequences,” begins as Robin returns to the band of outlaws and begins a plan to break Elena and Will out of prison. William attempts to retain his tentative hold over the Sheriffcy of Nottingham but so far, he is unable to gain many allies who would rally to his cause. Prince John offers his help to the band of outlaws, which they are skeptical of. Meanwhile, William attempts to turn Elena on her friends but she refuses to give up the hiding place of the outlaws.

Part Seven, titled “Arnaldia,” sees Guy of Gisbourne descending into madness, convinced that he has to take the law into his own hands so that order can be restored in Nottingham. His manipulations lead to Arable fleeing the castle after William confesses to being engaged to Lady Marion as a political maneuver. She is manipulated into freeing Elena and Will from prison and the trio lead Guy and his men directly to one of the outlaw’s camps. Before Guy can attack, Elena attempts to poison Robin, blaming him for all of the things that have gone wrong. Instead, she accidentally kills Will Scarlet’s best friend Alan. Elena is so distraught she takes her own life but not before admitting that even though Guy had talked her into it, she thought she was doing what was right. That is when Guy attacks and a fierce battle begins. The Guardsmen are routed by outlaws and villager alike, with Guy finding himself kneeling at Robin’s feet, asking the man to turn himself in. Robin declines by killing Guy right on the spot.

Part Eight, titled "Two Rivers," begins with Robin recovering from a fit of bloodlust, where he accidentally killed a villager who had been there to help them. Arable leads Little John and Robin back into Nottingham, where Little John finds Marion and is shocked to learn that she is willing to marry William for a political alliance in order to affect change. During this, William and Robin cross each other’s paths again. The pair argue about who is right, eventually sitting down and reminiscing about their time in Acre. William has an attendant, William de Ferrers, fetch some wine. When Robin drinks from the glass, William kills him. However, Ferrers has poisoned the wine, leading to William de Wendenal’s death as well. The Epilogue then finds several Nottingham Guards placing barrels of pitch in Sherwood Forest in preparation to burn it down but they are stopped by the notorious band of outlaws, who now include Arable and Lady Marion, among others. One outlaw, the man formerly known as Will Scarlet, now claims to be Robin Hood.