An epic battle rages in prehistoric Scotland. The mysterious and legendary Swordsinger leads his Celtic warriors against a maniacal zealot, King. King has created a ferocious army of grossly misshapen men by grafting animal parts onto their skins and dulling their pain with opiates. Swordsinger dies in that battle. In the modern world, Lock MacIain is a Canadian journalist with a wife and two teenagers. He is on assignment in Scotland when he comes to the attention of an elderly Duke. This nobleman determines that the MacIains are his nearest relations and, as such, the heirs of his estate. The Duke, although over one hundred and sixty years old, is vital and virile. He is also half-Faerie and has an inherited ability to time travel. When the Duke observes the unearthing of an ancient, well-preserved body, the MacIains become entangled in the discovery. Florry MacIain, Lock's teenage daughter, is attacked by the same outrageous beasts that killed Swordsinger. Just as it seems the entire family will also be destroyed by these creatures, Florry becomes something different: she glows like a star, strikes down the beasts, saves her family, and then collapses. Florry discovers she has the remarkable power to heal.