Synopsis
In the 11th Century, Scotland was a fractious, tribal nation where a man must inspire both loyalty and fear to rule. During this time before kilts and tartans, when the Scots called their nation Alba, a fierce warlord came to power whose legend endures today. But was he truly a usurper who stole his cousin's throne? Or was he the quintessential Celtic king, legitimate and powerful, who resisted invaders and kept the peace for seventeen prosperous years? Seen through the eyes of his faithful servant Kelda, Macbeatha is a brash and charismatic warrior on his way to the high kingship.First, however, he must fight his own cousins for rule of his home province; then, to be eligible, he must marry the granddaughter of a former High King: a woman who has scorned him, and stolen his heart. Even in victory, bitter prophecies dog Macbeatha: danger in Fife, defeat by a rowan, a Dark Warrior bent out of nature. And with the prize at last in his hands, his enemies conspire to take from him the one thing he could always trust.
Filled with passion, politics, and tantalizing possibilities, "Stones of Destiny" twists and turns with the fortunes of the great king to its inevitable conclusion, his death at the hands of mac Duff. Yet even as his star fades from glory, in the love and devotion of his faithful servant is raised on final glimmer of hope.
