Marie Le Bleu

Marie has never known hardship-not real hardship. The fifteen-year-old daughter of the Count of Auvergne has thought of little but a handsome young squire. Then one act of betrayal shatters everything. Her family is torn apart, and her father's lands fall into the hands of Lord Garon, a man whose ambition is matched only by his cruelty.

Marie flees to a convent, where she trades a father's house for God's, and grief for prayer. But Garon's reach extends even beyond the convent walls-and when he takes the one friend she has left, Marie hears something in the silence that follows.

A summons.

Protect the innocent. Defend the poor. Bring justice to Auvergne.

She knows nothing of war. To answer that call, she will need training a convent cannot give her, a will that has never been tested, and the courage to raise a sword. Marie believes God has called her to hunt the men who destroyed her family and rescue the friend who is all she has left of the life she lost.

But answering God's call will demand more than courage. It will demand that Marie confront the difference between justice and vengeance-and discover how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice to save those who cannot save themselves.