?Why is the measure of a man the number of strangers he kills?? The veteran knight escorting Prince Aelfwyn can?t give his young charge a satisfactory answer. Aelfwyn is reluctant to sort out his duties as a Medieval warrior in an island kingdom that is torn between three factions, but he is caught in the history of his Weorcman family that has gained power through secret alliances and treachery. As he travels among the Weorcmen, Cogniere, and Gaethels, Aelfwyn discovers he is being manipulated by secret plots for revenge. He is in danger from political conflicts and the struggles between generations of fathers and sons, pagans and churchmen, authoritarians and outlaws, scholars and naturalists. Without crashing through desperate moments with clenched teeth and a mighty sword arm, Aelfwyn proceeds with thuds and blunders, caution and good luck, and the advice of his intelligent horse. The prince always asks questions and takes no answers for certainty, but will his wit and good heart be enough to make him a hero?