Eolenea never knew her mother. She grew up an independent minded (some say spoiled) only child and heiress to her Father's Patriae of Lofthwell. At 19, the dynastic pressure for her to choose a husband from among the noble suitors is mounting. Though she is dissatisfied with any of the suitors, her father nonetheless takes her on a journey to the temple at Lightdrem to receive the traditional blessing of the goddess in preparation for marriage. There she unexpectedly meets a young man, a wandering rustic, unsuitable in every way except . . .
A tale of fate, love, dynastic ambition, sensuality, betrayal, and a father's desperate attempt to keep his daughter from the clutches of destiny and out of the songs of the poets. For when beautiful things end badly, there will always be the poets.