"That morning had come like any other fair dawn in the cool of spring: crisp and sparkling and fresh with the air of change."

Rumours of war are buzzing around her, yet the young healer who wrote those words could not have imagined the catastrophic changes that were coming that day. Before the morning is over, her home is in flames, her family is dead and she is taken captive by the Scottish army that invaded northern England in 1138. This is her remarkable story of loss, survival and love.

Eventually, the young woman writes of her experience, so it is her own voice that is heard in the novel Galiene, which uses as its title the name given to the proud and spirited young Englishwoman by the Scottish warriors. To King Fergus of Galloway, however, she is Amadan De, a Gaelic name meaning "Butterfly" or "God's Fool." Kind and passionate but tormented by deeds both past and present, Fergus seems to see in her far more than beauty and courage. His instincts prove true: the feisty and talented healer quickly becomes the spark that not only reignites ancient animosities among factions of the Scottish army, but also rekindles his own fiery spirit.