This tour de force series begins in the time of Merlin and Arthur, when the balance of power is shifting between the old gods and their magic, and that of the new Christian faith. Merlin, gifted with true prophecy and pledged to the ancient Druidic gods, is sworn to preserve the old values and to protect the Earth and its people. Lured by the spell of the earth goddess, he forsakes his vow of celibacy for one Beltane festival, and the result is his daughter Wren, first in the line of his descendants, all of whom will be sworn to preserve the natural balance of the world. And although Wren is gifted in the ancient magics, and her rightful place should have been in Avalon, she is instead thrust into the heart of the political and religious struggles of a society on the brink of chaos, forced to confront an overwhelming evil which may well destroy Merlin, Arthur, and her entire civilization.