Will and his brother Ned are commandeered into the army of ditch-diggers whose task it is to build the foundations for Edward I's castle at Flint. But the lads are nervous - and not just because they're far from home. Ned is a mute whose affinity with horses and skills as a herbalist make him suspicious in the eyes of their English overseers. In addition, Ned has been tutored by the exiled Welsh bard, Ieuan ap y Gof. An atmospheric and unusually affecting first novel, rich in historical and cultural detail.