12synopsis Maelstrom [ed3] The Chronicle of the Ostmen; book one. It is 869 and Ard Mhacha remains the principal meeting place of the ancients. Within a land controlled by clan lords the monks tell its people how to act and what to learn, Mael MacConaill a privilaged young noble disregards the messages of God's path for him. When the monastery is raided by Ostmen, everything changes. The warlords lead by the power of their warriors. Mael is propelled into the chaos surrounding the Danish invasion of the British kingdoms. As an outsider in a pagan culture within a foreign country, now as he learns to rely on his resourcefulness in a brutal chaotic realm. Mael sees the world of the Pagan, the traditions, the rites, the sacrifices. He sees how others make sense of their world, their beliefs and the tribal symbols that unify them. The monks brought the message of an eternal afterlife for those who embrace the faith in the one God. Can a Saxon leader show the courage his people need to fight for their home? The battle for the last Saxon kingdom is brought to a teetering threshold of existence by the onslaught of pagan forces.