It was a macabre ending for an unjust judge: his throat slit by a sharp knife; his body stuffed into a lobster pot and left beneath a powerful jet of water shooting up through the cliffs from the turbulent Atlantic. When Mara, Brehon of the nearby kingdom of the Burren, comes to investigate, she knows that her first suspects have to be the five young men who had received such savage sentences for minor crimes.

In 1510 Ireland, a great feast is being held. Into a crowd listening to the story of Balor, the one-eyed god, come two strangers. The younger of the two, Iarla, bears a letter that claims that the wealthy Ardal O'Lochlainn is his true father, which Ardal vociferously denies. So when Iarla is found dead, with one eye missing, some think he was killed by the god--but most suspect Ardal. Mara, the Brehon--or lawgiver--of the Burren, is called to investigate....