The last quarter of the tenth century was a time of conflict and exploration. While the Anglo-Saxons fought against the Vikings, Norsemen voyaged into the unknown, looking for new lands to pillage, and so discovered America. Prince Rumon of France, descendant of Charlemagne and King Alfred, was a searcher. He had visions of the Islands of the Blessed, perhaps King Arthurs Avalon where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow. Merewyn grew up in savage Cornwall—a lonely girl, sustained by stubborn courage and belief in her descent from great King Arthur. Chance—or fate—in the form of a shipwreck off the Cornish coast brought Rumon and Merewyn together and from that hour their lives were intertwined. Bound by his vow to her dying mother, Rumon brought Merewyn safely to England and kept from her and all others the shameful secret of her birth.
