Lady Gruadh, called Rue, is the last female descendant of Scotland's most royal line. Married to a northern lord, she is widowed while still carrying his child and forced to marry his murderer: a rising warlord named Macbeth. Encountering danger from Vikings, Saxons, and treacherous Scots, Rue comes to respect the man she once despised--then realizes that Macbeth's complex ambitions extend beyond the borders of the vast northern region. Among powerful warlords and their steel-games, only Macbeth can unite Scotland--and his wife's royal blood is the key to his ultimate success.