Mercia, 788 AD In the grand Saxon halls of Mercia, King Offa rules with cold ambition. His youngest daughter Eadburh is destined for an arranged marriage, but with reckless spirit her heart is taken by a Welsh prince, a man she can never be matched with and who is quickly and cruelly taken from her. Eadburh inherited her father's ruthless ways but it's the gifts passed down from her mother that are far more dangerous. She is determined to carve her own place in the world, yet her path could cause war.