Set against a backdrop of the year 1066 a mysterious rock re-emerges after an absence of hundreds of years. On this occasion the Keeper, for that is what the custodian of the rock is called, is visited in a dream during the night the star with the hairy tail shows itself in the sky and is tasked with finding an ancient stone tablet, hidden by a monk three centuries earlier. Bedwyth, the monk, could not find it in himself to reveal the contents of the tablet to the world, fearing it would destroy all that people believed in, but nor could he destroy it, knowing that to do so would be destroying the word of God. Now, three hundred years after his death, a parchment comes to light written by Bedwyth telling of the tablet and divulging clues to its whereabouts but not its contents. The Keeper teams up with her cousins and a stranger named Jehoshua to solve the mystery, but is the stranger all that he seems or is he holding something back? Something which if it was revealed would cause as much disturbance as the secrets of the stone.
Others however want the rock the Keeper wears, some believing it will assist in their quest to conquer England whilst some want to use its power to seek the ancient tablet, believing that were it not to be revealed it would go against the will of God. Others are doing all in their power to have the rock destroyed in order to keep its secrets safe and thus the tablet of stone. The Keeper finds herself fleeing for her life as the rival factions try to wrest the secret of the stone from her. But she has the same dilemma as the monk, Bedwyth. If the tablet is found should she disclose its contents or would the world's population be better kept in ignorance? Events however take a different path as the Keeper and her companions become embroiled in the events and battles of the year as first they charge north with King Harold's army to fight off the Viking invasion before returning south to face William, Duke of Normandy. The story calls into question many of the beliefs we grew up with, whilst encompassing the legends, the fables and the facts surrounding what is possibly the most famous date in English history.
It is a tale of battles and intrigue, of love, and of grief, of mystery and mayhem but most of all it tells of one year in history as seen through the eyes of someone who experienced it and lived to tell the tale.
- ISBN10 1844268543
- ISBN13 9781844268542
- Publish Date 1 September 2010
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 27 June 2013
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Upfront Publishing
- Imprint FastPrint Publishing
- Format Paperback
- Pages 504
- Language English