What if you knew a story that you could tell no one-except one person?

The Duke of La Marche is being held prisoner in a tower over a friendship he never tried to hide. As confidant to the famous Maid of Donremy, the duke should have been a hero. Instead, he was locked up by his king and called a traitor.

But this betrayal no longer matters to the duke. What does matter is a promise he made to a young girl-to the Maid. For the Maid had been but a girl once-a girl with a name and her own astonishing story-as he had been but a boy. He knows that one day, when he is old and frail, another girl, a poisoner, will come looking for him. And he will keep his promise-he will reveal to her the Maid's mystery so that destiny will be fulfilled.

When Ankarette, the queen's poisoner, arrives in enemy territory on a quest for the Maid's magic sword, little does she realize that she's been chosen-or that the duke's story will alter the fabric of her mission-and the impending war about to tear two kingdoms apart.