In this dazzling retelling of one of Ireland's most stirring legends, acclaimed author Jules Watson brings to life the story of Maeve, the raven queen, who is as fierce as she is captivating. She was born to be a pawn, used to secure her father's royal hold on his land. She was forced to advance his will through marriageher own desires always thwarted. But free-spirited Maeve will no longer endure the schemes of her latest husband, Conor, the cunning ruler of Ulster. And when her father's death puts her homeland at the mercy of its greedy lords and Conor's forces, Maeve knows she must at last come into her own power to save it. With secret skill and daring, Maeve proves herself the equal of any warrior on the battlefield. With intelligence and stealth, she learns the strategiesand sacrificesof ruling a kingdom through treacherous alliances. And to draw on the dangerous magic of her country's oldest gods, Maeve seeks out the wandering druid Ruan, whose unexpected passion and strange connection to the worlds of spirit imperil everything Maeve thought true about herselfand put her at war with both her duty and her fate.From the Trade Paperback edition.