Scotland, AD 580: A queen has risen. A battle has been won. Loved ones who were lost have been reunited. But in a land of power-hungry kings, peace is precarious and cannot last for long. All too soon, circumstance pulls both Britons and Scots back to their own destinies. The warrior Artúr receives a mysterious summons from his father in Dalriada. Queen Languoreth and her brother must return to Strathclyde with the dangerous former bishop Mungo in tow, determined to maintain the fragile balance between the Christians and the people of the Old Way. Meanwhile, the young priestess Angharad must travel deep into the shadowed land of the Picts, hoping to become the initiate of Briochan, a druid who practices the secret Celtic art of weather work. As they rise to meet their fates, they are pushed to impossible new frontiers.

AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to wage war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history scatters its survivors to the wind, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine-year-old Angharad must summon all that Lailoken has taught her and follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity.

One of the most powerful early medieval queens in British history, Languoreth ruled at a time of enormous disruption and bloodshed, when the burgeoning forces of Christianity threatened to obliterate the ancient pagan beliefs. Together with her twin brother, Lailoken, Languoreth is catapulted into a world of danger and violence. When a war brings the hero Emrys Pendragon to their door, Languoreth collides with the handsome warrior Maelgwn. Their passionate connection is forged by enchantment, but Languoreth is promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of the High King. As Rhydderch's wife, Languoreth must assume her duty to fight for the preservation of the Old Way, her kingdom and all she holds dear.