But first, civil war will rage. King 'thelbald's forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics. Offa must stand hostage to his family's good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from 'thelbald's bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her. But the king isn't finished with his denigration of Offa's noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa's resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King 'thelbald's oathsworn warriors. With the king's health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship. Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia. Praise for M J Porter: 'Immediate and personal. MJ Porter recounts a sensitive, reluctant hero's coming-of-age within a Dark Age realm riven by chaos and conflict' - Matthew Harffy 'Refreshing… I was reluctant to put the book down' - Historical Novel Society .
