Publisher's Synopsis
The Battle of Bealach Lechta in 978 AD has given the crown of Munster to Brian mac Cennetig and cost the life of Laoghaire mac Daigh, Laogahire leaves behind a pregnant wife, Deirdre and two children, Muirin and Earnan. The new king, Brian honors his old friend by sending his son, Murchad to deliver a purse of copper, silver and gold to sustain Deirdre and her children. Born on a cold November night as a wolf howls in the nearby wood, Deirdre's new baby, bigger than her first two, screams his way into the world. Looking at her son, Deirdre hears the wolf in the distance and honors the beast, naming her new son, Conall. As the boy grows to a man, Conall and his brother, Earnan begin to learn the use of weapons from a Dal gCais warrior and face their first combat before they are fully grown. Conall is drawn to the life of a warrior as his father and grandfather were before him. He feels a loyalty to the king, Brian and after several early skirmishes at his home, he and his brother join Deaglan, their mentor and become part of the king's army. Conall is a true warrior, a large man, called a giant by some, a ferocious fighter with both the axe and the sword. His size and his skill with his weapons combined with a temper that frightens both friend and foe become known across the island. A great warrior, but a man with questions about what he does. A man who knows peace, battle, anger, loss then peace again. The cycle continues as he fights under the banner of a king who unites his nation and later, after the death of the king, Conall rises to lead his family, his tribe through difficult times and establishes a clann that will endure.
