Sir Thomas first appears in the first episode as a knight on horseback fleeing pursing crossbowmen. He is injured when one crossbow bolt strikes him in the arm while another slays his horse. Fleeing into the nearby woods, he is able to kill his pursuers in a fight, before then collapsing of his injuries and being taken to the Kingsbridge Priery by the brothers Merthin and Ralph, who had been in the woods at the time. His injury is treated by the healer Mattie Wise but later becomes infected. Before Mattie can arrive, the Priery healer Brother Joseph amputates the arm, and Thomas is saved only by the timely arrival and quick thinking of Mattie Wise.