In seventh-century England, a vicious attack sets in motion a war of attrition which will last for generations. Four kings, connected by blood and marriage, vie for the mantle of overlord. Three affect to rule with divine assistance. The fourth, whose cousin and sister have been mistreated and whose friend has been slaughtered, watches, and waits. He is a pagan, he is a Mercian, and his name is Penda. By his side is a woman determined to escape her brutal past. She aids his struggle against his treacherous brother and their alliance founds a dynasty with the potential to end injustice and suppression, if only they can continue to stand together… A story that spans generations, and travels from Sutton Hoo to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and back to the buried treasure of Staffordshire, this is the first of a two-volume series of the tales of the Iclingas, the family who ruled Mercia, fighting to avenge their kin and to keep their people free.

A father's legacy can be a blessing or a curse... The sons of Penda of Mercia have come of age. Ethelred, the youngest, recalls little of past wars while Wulf is determined to emulate their father, whose quest to avenge his betrayed kinswomen drew him to battle three successive Northumbrian kings. Ecgfrith of Northumbria is more hostile towards the Mercians than his father was. His sister Ositha, thwarted in her marriage plans, seeks to make her mark in other ways, but can she, when called upon, do her brother's murderous bidding? Ethelred finds love with a woman who is not involved in the feud, but fate intervenes. Wulf's actions against Northumbria mean Ethelred must choose duty over love, until he, like his father before him, has cause to avenge the women closest to him. Battle must once more be joined, but the price of victory will be high. Can Ethelred stay true to his father's values, end the feud, keep Mercia free, and find the path back to love? This is the second and final volume in the Tales of the Iclingas series, which began with the award-winning novel, Cometh the Hour.