It is 869 and Ard Mhacha remains the preferred meeting place of the ancients. Within a land controlled by monks who tell the people how to act and what to learn, Mael MacConaill grows up a privileged young noble who has no interest in hearing about God's plan for him to reach heaven. But when the monastery is suddenly raided by Ostmen, everything changes for Mael. After he becomes a hostage to a warlord, Mael is unwittingly propelled into the chaos surrounding the Danish invasion of the British kingdoms. While a battle for the last Saxon kingdom ensues, Mael becomes an outsider in an alien culture within a foreign country. Now as he learns to rely on his resourcefulness to survive within a brutal chaotic realm, Mael must somehow find his way during an uncertain time when Christian lords dutifully follow the written word. In this historical novel for teens, a young noble's life is transformed during ninth century Europe and beyond after he is taken hostage during a raid on a monastery.