Roman England, 366 AD Minna, a Roman serving girl, loses family and home and is flung out into the brutal world to fend for herself. Desperate to reach her soldier brother at the northern frontier, she falls in with Cian, a tribeless youth with no loyalty to anyone but himself. A terrible mistake sees them thrust into the wilds of barbarian Scotland, a land in chaos. The Romans have sent scouts north from their frontier, seeking to subdue Scotland by any means possible. The dark Picts retaliate, raiding and pillaging Roman farms. And caught in the middle is Cahir, King of the Dalriadans in Scotland. Year by year he has watched his people fall under the Roman yoke, and wounded by shame, his power dwindles. At Cahir's fort, Cian and Minna must struggle to survive. Cian retreats into the pain of his hidden past, while Minna has an entirely unexpected path open before her. What are these visions and dreams of Scotland - full of battles and bloodshed - that plague her? Minna's visions reveal a destiny that she shares with the wounded king Cahir. Yet her journey to heal them both has far-reaching consequences.
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About the Author:
Jules Watson was born in Australia to English parents. She came to fiction via archaeology and public relations, working most recently as a freelance writer in England. She and her Scottish husband divide their time between the United Kingdom and Australia.
From Publishers Weekly:
Archeologist Watson concludes her popular Dalriada trilogy (after The Dawn Stag and The White Mare), with another richly imagined and action-packed saga. Watson's heroine, Minna, is a nursemaid for a Roman family living south of Hadrian's Wall that separates Roman Britannia from barbarian Alba (present-day Scotland). A half-caste with unnatural eyes and strange ways, Minna runs away after the death of her beloved grandmother. Traveling north where her brother serves with the legions, Minna is captured by slave traders and sold into slavery. Her new owner, Queen Maeve, the wife of King Cahir of Dalriada—one of the tribal kingdoms of Alba—assigns her to tutor royal children. King Cahir soon realizes that the new tutor is a 'sign of the prophecy' that it is his destiny to free Alba of Rome. King Cahir forges an alliance among the usually fractious northern tribes and marches south to confront the Romans. Standing in their way are the hated Roman legions, their despised Wall, Minna's split allegiance to her Roman roots and her captors, and treachery among Cahir's family and allies. Watson's work is as inventive, eloquent and exotic as ever; her fans will relish this rousing conclusion. (Jan.)
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- PublisherOrion
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 0752893386
- ISBN 13 9780752893389
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages416
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Rating