Rebel Sword

When Henry I dies in 1135, his nephew, Stephen seizes the throne. Most of the barons support him, despite the solemn oaths they swore to Henry's only legitimate heir, the Empress Matilda. It seems her cause is lost until her half-brother, the powerful Robert, Earl of Gloucester, falls out with King Stephen and decides to support Matilda.

While Robert plots treason, his bastard son, Thomas, sulks in a Bristol tavern. Though born of a Saxon mother, the youth is raised in his father's Norman household, where his fierce pride and skill with a blade often lead him into conflict. After a violent brawl, he is exiled to his father's estates in Normandy, though his punishment does not satisfy some of his opponents.

As Thomas rides south, in the company of his curmudgeonly Saxon uncle, the outlook seems bleak until a chance encounter with a troubled young heiress. But, since she is bound for a nunnery and he is condemned to exile, what possible future could they have together?

Only a fool would challenge barons, church and king for the sake of one young lady. Only a fool... or a determined, half-Saxon bastard who knows that his father is about to light the fire of rebellion across the kingdom.