It is 1194, and the devil is indeed loose-In Sherwood Forest.Once known as the Templar assassin Guy de Gisbourne, dispossessed noble Gamelyn Boundys has come to Sherwood Forest with conflicting oaths. One is of duty: demanding he tame the forest's druidic secrets and bring them back to his Templar Masters. The other is of heat and heart: given to the outlaw Robyn Hood, avatar of the Horned Lord, and the Maiden Marion, embodiment of the Lady Huntress. The three of them-Summerlord, Winter King, and Maiden of the Spring-are bound by yet another promise, that of fate: to wield the covenant of the Shire Wode and the power of the Ceugant, the magical trine of all worlds.Uneasy oaths begin a collision course when not only Gamelyn but Robyn and Marion are summoned to the siege of Nottingham by the Queen. Her promise is that Gamelyn will regain his noble family's honor of Tickhill, and the outlaws of the Shire Wode will have a royal pardon.But King Richard has returned to England, and the price of his mercy might well be more than any of them can afford.