The first chapter in an epic adventure set in Elizabethan Ireland. A must for fans of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Arturo Pérez-Reverte1579 AD. Ireland is about to be plunged into rebellion. The reluctant leader of the rebellion is the Earl of Desmond. Grace O'Malley, sea captain, clan chieftain and occasional pirate, has just been released from the imprisonment into which she has been placed by the same Earl. She resolves to take herself as far as possible from her native shore to avoid involvement in the forthcoming rebellion and, accordingly, sets out on a long trading voyage to Spain. The voyage is more eventful than hoped for. Her galley is nearly sunk in an Atlantic gale and is attacked by Algerine pirates. The relief felt on finally making landfall in Spain is quickly dispelled by the arrival of Desmond's cousin, Fitzmaurice, who forces her, by subterfuge, into assisting the rebellion...