In the mid-1500s, the ‘witch craze’ was beginning to sweep across Europe. Hundreds of trials had already been conducted and hundreds of people executed for witchcraft in Germany, England, and Scotland. Would Ireland soon succumb? Gale Butler begins her life journey as the pampered and well-educated daughter of a prosperous Galway merchant. She is a budding cartographer and seafarer, joined in her early sailing adventures by her best friend, the future pirate queen Granuaile (Grace/Grainne) O’Malley. Gale embarks on a series of journeys, only some of which are voluntary. She finds help and hindrance in unexpected ways and places. A druidic arts mentor, a mystical horse, and a troubled but honest and handsome man at arms of the O’Flaherty clan assist her. She firmly believes she will return to her Galway family after an unwanted marriage has been averted, but it is not to be. During her flight from home, a geas is laid upon her by a woman of the Sidhe. Enemies abound and unseen evil dogs her heels, yet despite the plots and perils at hand, Gale meets her true soul mate and begins to build life-long friendships with some of the premier intellects and inventors of the age. Yet all of these happenings must always take a back seat to the geas, the prevention of witch persecutions in Ireland. Set in Western Ireland, the fast-paced, authentic tale is a mix of historical fact, plausible fiction, and a touch of Celtic mysticism. Mists of Avalon meets Outlander in this story of bold women who push against society's boundaries of religion, politics, and gender.