Barely married, Judith Ryan, young American college student, is whisked away to Ireland by her husband, Professor Peter Ryan. It isn't long before Judith realizes that she really does not know Peter, and what she does know sends her running in terror into the storm-ravaged night. She finds herself at the side of the druid well with nowhere else to run, and Peter is closing in on her. Leaning far out over the side of the ancient well, she prays to an unknown protectress, the unmortared stones of the well give way, and Judith begins a journey into the past. Waking, Judith finds herself near the same well, but having taken a giant step back in time. Dun Tirlough, no longer the ruins through which Peter searches for ancient artifacts, looms as a giant fortress along the coastline. Judith is discovered by Griffon mac Connault, youngest son of the lord of Dun Tirlough and, unbeknownst to her, soon to become the master of her life and her heart. As Judith begins her adventure, she has no way of knowing that she will fall in love with Griffon, as well as his family.