This is Mercia. The year is 758.

In the space of just a few months, two kings have fallen.

Now the royal helm stands unclaimed, and ambitious men across the kingdom believe it should be theirs.

King Æthelbald is dead. So too is the man chosen to succeed him. Though Offa has been proclaimed king by his warriors, his grip on the throne is far from secure. Mercia’s enemies circle on every border, eager to profit from her weakness, while rivals within the kingdom plot to tear her apart.

But Offa is no boy-king. Unknown to him, he has been prepared throughout his life for this very moment.

As challengers rise and fall, the struggle for power grows ever darker. Treachery lurks in every hall, and Offa’s enemies know that the surest way to break a king is to strike at what he loves most.

To save his kingdom, Offa must master not only his foes but himself. Will he place duty above desire and forge a united Mercia? Or will civil war once again consume the land of his birth?

The fate of a kingdom hangs in the balance.