It is the autumn of 1277, and the rebellion of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, believed by the Welsh to be

righful Prince of Wales, against the English King Edward I has just ended with the signing of the

Treaty of Oswestry. Sixteen- year- old Morgana de Malvey finds herself with divided loyalties as

she is half Welsh and half English. The bastard daughter of a minor Norman-English knight and a

Welsh woman, life has not been kind to her as she has been lame since her early childhood, and by

the dying wish of her father, Rafe de Malvey, she has been raised under the guardianship of his

widow, Lady Camilla de Malvey. She barely tolerates Morgana, except as companion to her younger

half-sister Constanca. A great marriage lies ahead for Constanca, but all Morgana looks forward

to after her sister`s marriage is the priory where she will spend the rest of her life. However,

she has never been resigned to this fate, but can see no escape from it. Her only trusted friend

at Tre Nant is a Welsh serving-woman called Tudfil, who is surrounded by a mystery of her own.

When Constanca marries Stephen de Barfleur, Morgana captures the interest of a guest at the wedding,

Crespin de D`raconville, and her future becomes even more uncertain and even perilous. But,

although she does not realise it she is not completely alone, for she has friends - surprising

friends in high places.