A castle is destroyed in 597 AD and 40 survivors flee to an isolated village in the forest of southwest Wessex. They hide under threat of death for seven years until a girl, affectionately nicknamed Princess, rescues a boy left to die on the side of a road and their lives change forever.

Princess has spent seven of her thirteen years hiding as a refugee with a small group of her family and friends. Rescuing the boy, Cynegils, and hearing his stories about the world outside has ignited her desire to experience it. But her village has a secret that will destroy them all if it is ever discovered.

The two fall in love as Cynegils is nursed back to health through the spring. By the time he is strong enough for the dangerous journey home, Princess has learned an even darker secret about her family and faces an ultimate decision: Should she leave to see the world and marry the first boy she’s ever loved? Princess will never see her family or home again if she leaves and will always carry the burden of a secret she can never tell anyone - even Cynegils. But she loses her only chance for love if she stays. 

Life is tough enough when you're 13. Making a decision like this while facing starvation, marauding wolf packs, tyrannical kings, and invading armies makes it seem almost impossible.