The Foreigner's Stone

At the end of the first millennium-999 AD-the Irish sea-side clan of Murragh still remembers all too well the bloody raids on their lands by the vicious Northmen, or Vikings. They believe the threat lingers still on the small isle that lays just offshore-Inis Ghall, or "Isle of Foreigners." But Murragh's daughter Omra has no fear of the island or its possible inhabitants; and her curiosity is piqued by a pair of boys, twin brothers her own age who make their way to the mainland in search of food and survival. She is drawn to Stigg, a half-Irish warrior and metalsmith, though she is officially betrothed to the beast-like chieftain of a pagan inland clan, Cron n. Her father tries to enlist Cron n's aid in fighting what he believes will be a new attack from Vikings left on Inis Ghall-but with disastrous results. Will Omra's foreign stone-a chunk of amber she wears on her ring finger-help the small sea clan, and herself, avoid disaster? Or does it harbor secrets and ugly truths she would rather not know? For readers 14 and up.