A bloodied knight fleeing a lost cause rescues a woman escaping from the madness of a burning countryside and guides her and her daughters to temporary safety. An angry warlord is dispatched to seize a bridge but decides first to divert and ravage a small town. A young squire, following his master into his first battle, has numerous fears and uncertainties to overcome. Each have a story to tell and they all meet together in the clash around the Pax Regis, the King's Peace, a magnificent stone bridge over the Matriarch, the Mother of Waters.

A tale of brutal warfare, adventure and romance, with the destiny of a kingdom at stake, the lives of the four main characters hang in the balance, yet the widow Eodithe of West Riverside still hopes for a normal life, for herself and her two young daughters, if they can survive.