High Crosses are among the most important monuments to survive from Ireland's Golden Age of Saints and Scholars, and over seventy-five of them are described in detail here. Their figure carvings illustrate the Bible story like a filmstrip, and this guide explains what the individual panels represent. Many novel identifications offered by the author shed new light on the deeper religious message of the crosses, which can vary according to the choice of biblical subjects.

The book is designed as a field guide for those who want to study the crosses at first hand, and numerous diagrams assist in pinpointing the various Old and New Testament scenes sculpted on them. The crosses are arranged in the alphabetical order of their sites, and a map and national grid references should help the reader to locate them on the ground.