Mara Meathe, mysterious survivor of the battle of Glenmorgan as an infant, struggles with her own identity as she climbs the military ranks of Tara on her way to a confrontation with Donal XII, the former Sean Reilly. Meanwhile, Angus and Day McAllister, exiled to our earth in one of Hibernia's many palace coups, have their own scores to settle with Mara's clan McCarthy enemies and their allies, as do Lady Katherina and her adopted daughter Sheana. Others also have reason to be present in court when the ban on the throne expires. Their lives intertwine with Mara's and each other as they struggle spiritually while facing well-financed high-tech conspiracies to turn Hibernia and the other earths into ethnically-cleansed MacCarthy family dictatorships.