Charlemagne has massed his army in Geneva, poised to add Italy to his growing list of conquests. Meanwhile, the mercenary forces of King Desiderus are perched on the other side of the Alps, ready to attack anyone moving through the mountain passes. In between live the shapeshifters, protected by their leader, Maenial, and his bride, Regeane. In a very short time, the war destroys everything that Regeane and Maenial have struggled to accomplish. Soon they are cast into a well of calamity, as Maenial pledged to Charlemagne as man, loyal to none but himself as wolf is captured by Desiderus's men. Now Regeane must save him. But to do so, she enlists the aid of another, Saxon whose love for her poses dangers of its own.