Cloistered in a stone cell at the monastery of Saint Brigit, a sixth-century Irish nun secretly records the memories of her Pagan youth, interrupting her assigned task of transcribing Augustine and Patrick. She also writes of her fiercely independent mother, whose skill with healing plants an dinner strength she inherited. She writes of her druid teacher, the brusque but magnetic Giannon, who first introduced her to the mysteries of written language. But disturbing events at the cloister keep intervening. As the monastery is rent by vague and fantastic accusations, Gwynneve's words become the one force that can save her from annihilation.

"A beautifully written and thought-provoking book." -- Library Journal

"As a slant of sunlight illuminates jewels long buried, Kate Horsley's novel brings words to an ancient silence and a living, vivid presence to people who lived in that time of great changes and estrangements we call the Dark Ages." -- Ursula K. LeGuin

"A exquisite historical novel. The poetry of the language is stunning." -- Margot Adler, author of Drawing Down the Moon

Kate Horsley is the author of A Killing in New Town, which won the 1996 Best Western States Book Award for Fiction