Wales in the 14th Century was a country in ruins. After a hundred years of English occupation, famine, plague and oppression the country exploded into revolt led by the mysterious Owain Glyndwr. Owain was a successful member of the Anglo-Welsh aristocracy and seemed the model of the new Welshman that was resigned to English rule. However, beneath the surface Owain was the decedent of the last princes of Wales and embodied his countrymen's yearning for freedom. The novel tells the story of Owain's early life and why he came to rebel against the English. We see Owain from his earlier years as he learns of the evil of the Anglo-Norman barons, how he goes to London, participates in the Peasants Revolt and becomes a friend of King Richard II. How the fall of Richard and the rise of Henry IV lead to his rebellion. Richly detailed and full of description of the period and the reality of life in the 14th and 15th Century, "The Dragon Wakes" tells a forgotten story of revolt, revolution, and high politics in low places.