Synopsis:Based on the history of the Maeatae; an alliance of Scottish clans the Roman Empire never successfully conquered.
Upon the arrival of a massive Roman force, one key rebel is in descent. The next morning their plans of attack are spoiled, and Morghanna and Firth are lucky to survive. However, they escape the battlefield only to be captured by the traitor Clype.
Clype is unable to approach, let alone impress, the powerful new administrator Nonus. So, when his Druid skills let him find the pair alone, he compels Firth into a deal--steal him a horse for the girl. Clype takes a risk hiding the identities of the rebel chieftains' kids, but with the horse, he's instantly able to improve Nonus's awful horsemanship. It's the start of their strategic alliance, and because of his lie, Morghanna and Firth are given land, citizenship, and life.
For sixteen years all is well. The two have a daughter, Erin, and a prospective son-in-law, Yiberious. It's an unpopular match for the promising Legionnaire; one his subordinates try undoing. Erin is attacked, and the locals are punished for the violence. Enraged by the unfairness of it all, Morghanna seeks revenge. She manages to seduce the visiting Governor Ulpius Marcellus, but during the intercourse, learns that the Governor has intervened and married Yiberious and her daughter.
Afterwards Nonus enlists the Emperor's help and a new Governor is sent. But despite Nonus's best efforts, Yiberious and the new Governor are fast friends. Furious, he gives Yiberious a gift of poisoned wine unintentionally killing the new Governor in the process. Together, Clype and Nonus are quick to cover it up, but when Clype is implicated he uses Morghanna's past to blame her.
As an outlaw Morghanna rallies the clans of the Miati against Rome. Rebellion is rampant, outposts are being raided by the day, and with the locals recounting Morghanna's lies about a renegade druid, Nonus assassinates Clype.
Sure enough after Clype's murder everything returns to normal, and Nonus is finally free to send his forces northwards in search of fortune. But this is all Morghanna's plan, and in a cunning raid, she captures Nonus and the returning Governor himself, Ulpius Marcellus. With their special connection and his unfortunate situation, Morghanna is able to negotiate a treaty that leaves the Fort burnt to the ground and the Roman Governor slogging his way back behind Hadrian's wall.