The years is AD 1147. King Arthur of Britain is still an unseasoned monarch. He has yet to meet his betrothed, Guineviere, and Camelot is still a little more than an idea in his mind. He is visited at the castle by a gentleman who brings him an astonishing tale of an astonishing woman-the Naked Queen of Tabithia. The man is named Darien, and he is the queen's son, soon to be ruler of Tabithia. But before he can reign, he must learn the secret behind the singular events that have shaped his life. As the two converse, Arthur begins to understand the truth and the lies associated with the Naked Queen. It is around AD 1120. The Scandinavian realm of Tabithia is in turmoil. Since his ascension to the throne, King Ballizar has embarked on a horrid ritual that seems intent on decimating the maiden population. On the night of each full moon, Ballizar conducts a despicable ritual that puts some poor maiden of the realm to a terrible test. No one yet has able to withstand it. It is not until the ritual is interrupted by the arrival of a woman named Syrenya that the ritual is finally broken, and by doing so, Syrenya becomes the King's consort and queen of Tabithia. But on her wedding night, she learns a terrible secret-one that will take all her cunning and intelligence and, the span of a quarter century, to put right.