Kaela knew the Queen had murdered Lord Orvyn the moment she learned how he had died.

A man who complains of stabbing pains in his stomach and a band of iron around his chest moments after drinking from his wine cup; who falls from his chair, face beaded with sweat and struggling to draw his next breath - the screams of a kitchen girl filling everyone's ears, and the wooden plate she had been about to place on the table splitting in two on the stone floor beside her Lord, peppering his contorted body with onions and peas - such a man has been poisoned.

And poison showed the Queen's hand as surely as if she had used it to thrust a knife into his heart.

This is the story of the birth of a dynasty that eventually would rule all of England. The Kingdom of Wessex at the close of the turbulent 8th century was a world of rivalry, betrayal, violence, and mystery.

The players: a cunning and ambitious Queen; a cruel High Reeve of Wessex; a bitter and ruthless usurper and his two menacing companions - a pair of barely-human twins; a strange lady of the forest who may have the gift of prophecy. And the ordinary folk, the backbone of every community - upon whose shoulders a new land can be forged.

Fenn and Kaela are two young outsiders with fresh dreams who find themselves thrust into the centre of the conflict. They must rely on their wits, their unique skills - and each other - to survive the danger threatening on every side as they strive to save the kingdom and ensure a new beginning for WESTERLING.