With the death of his father, Connachtach is finally free: Free to leave the family farm, free to return to the monastery of his youth, and free to scribe—a skill held by few in eighth-century Scotia. But answering what he hopes is God's call to create a new, glorified book of the gospel is not without sacrifice: in leaving all earthly matters behind, Connachtach also leaves his sister Oona and niece Deirdre, who are not so eager to let him disappear from their lives. From the Celtic shores of Iona to the amber sands of newly founded Baghdad; from the eerie decrepitude of fallen Rome to the hallowed stairs of Jerusalem, what begins as Connachtach's quest to scribe soon ranges beyond even his most beatific vision.

In this transporting testament to the power of the written word, Amy Crider offers a richly imagined early medieval odyssey ripe with purpose and rife with danger—whether from marauding Vikings, treacherous fellow wayfarers, or one's own innermost doubts.