Cecily is the only child of an Englishman who has been granted a burgage in Caernarvon, a walled settlement in Wales, at the end of the thirteenth century. Cecily detests Caernarvon, finding the people backwards and sometimes downright threatening. She longs to return to her life of leisure in northern England. Gwenhyfar, a maid in Cecily’s household, seethes with quiet rage at the English invaders. In contrast to Cecily’s whining, her voice is clipped and terse as she reveals the destitute conditions under which she lives and the oppression and fear that define life for her and the other Welsh. Moving back and forth between these distinct first-person voices, author J. Anderson Coats develops two credible characters who, by circumstances, are enemies. Neither understands the other’s perspective, and their encounters, riveting and tension-filled, further illuminate the terrible imbalance of power between them. That power shifts after Welsh raiders storm Caernarvon and slay many of the English—an attack that is shocking yet no less brutal than what the Welsh have already endured. Coats’s vivid novel is authentically harsh, although Cecily offers moments of rueful comic relief in her inability to see the reality around her until she has no choice. The two protagonists are admirably complex and equally affecting by story’s end. A historical note provides additional information about the place and the political tensions in the story, both of which were real. (Age 13 and older)

Cecily longs to return to her beloved Edgeley Hall, where her father was lord of the manor. But now he has completely ruined her life. He is moving them to Caernarvon, in occupied Wales, where he can get a place for almost nothing, since the king needs good strong Englishmen to keep down the vicious Welshmen. At least Cecily will get to be the lady of the house at last—if all goes well.

Gwenhwyfar knows all about that house. Once she dreamed of being the lady there herself, until the English came and destroyed the lives of everyone she knows. Now Gwenhwyfar must wait hand and foot on this bratty English girl who has taken what should have been hers.

While Cecily struggles to find her place amongst the snobby English landowners, Gwenhwyfar struggles just to survive. And meanwhile the Welsh are not as conquered as they seem. Outside the city walls of Caernarvon, tensions are rising ever higher—until finally they must reach the breaking point.