Book 3 of the Pendragon Cycle A magnificent epic set against the backcloth of Roman Britain and Celtic legend. 'When all the words are spoken and the arguments fall exhausted into silence, this single fact remains: we would follow Arthur to the very gates of hell and beyond if he asked it. Show me another who can claim such loyalty.' They called him unfit to rule - a lowborn, callow boy, Uther's bastard son. But his coming had been foretold in the songs of the bard Taliesin. He had learned the uses of power from his guide and protector, Merlin. He was Arthur Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty - who would rise to legendary greatness in a Britain torn by violence, greed, and war; the Lord of Summer who would usher in a glorious reign of peace and prosperity... and whose noble, trusting heart would be broken by treachery.