In a time when kings and druids ruled Ireland, the nuns of Saint Brigid are struggling to keep their monastery alive, but when the bones of their patron saint go missing from the church, it looks as if all is lost. Making her first outing in a series that continues in Sacrifice, Sister Deirdre—trained as a bard and raised by a druid grandmother—will use all of her skills in an attempt to find the missing relics before the convent begins to lose faith. A Harvard-trained scholar of Celtic studies and a biographer of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Saint Patrick, Philip Freeman here proves to be a sure hand at compelling, fast-paced historical fiction.

"Freeman's first novel has a strong atmosphere, absorbing, well-drawn characters, and a compelling plot."—Library Journal (starred review)