Two childhood friends are caught in a web of intrigue, conspiracies and love as a valiant nation’s freedom hangs in the balance.
1290: Turmoil erupts when Scotland’s child queen perishes en route to claim the crown. Two bitter foes – John Balliol and Robert Bruce – emerge at possible successor, but England’s Edward I has his own designs on Scotland.
In London, Edward has expelled all Jews from his kingdom. Rachel de Anjou is heartbroken to leave behind her best friend, Isabel de Burke, and travel with her family to the Scottish border town of Berwick. Danger is everywhere, but the tall, dark Highlander Kieran MacDonald presents a risk of a different sort.
Isabel, appointed as lady-in-waiting to Edward’s queen, attracts the notice of two men – Henry de Boyer, an English knight, and Highland outlaw Rory MacGannon. As the enmity between Scotland and England reaches its violent peak, each woman must decide where her loyalty – and her destiny – lies.
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I was looking around online for release dates for kathleen givens, one of my fav. authors. in my search i discovered that she had been taken from us far too soon. it made me very sad to think that this bright star had faded. it immediately prompted a memory of a highland festival. it was my first. rivals had just come out and i saw it sitting at a stand. i looked at it foundly and a woman came up to me and asked if i was a fan of the author? i said that i was and that i had all of her books other than this one. as i decided i would buy the book, the same woman asked if i would like her to sign my book. i looked at her with wide eyed astonishment, realizing that this was the featured authors booth and that i was talking to kathleen givens. i appologized for being an idiot and said i would love her autograph. she wrote “meaghan, with the lovely eyes, it was lovely to meet you at the games, slainte! kathleen” she had no idea how much she touched my that day and that book has lived in a place of honor since that day. she was remarkably kind and sweet and i am honored to have known her even for a few moments in her far to short life. thank you kathleen where ever you are, for being an amazing woman to look up to and a brillant artist to aspire to be like. sweet rest dear one