William Fylbrigge is a young idealist who finds himself in a position to bring a voice of reason to an otherwise unreasonable world, when he is named heir to his foster father's Dukedom. Having survived a traumatizing childhood in the cruel care of his older brother and his wife, who used the witch hysteria to their advantage, William takes on the mantel of 'defender' to the wrongly accused, gaining a the reputation of 'hero' among the country folk, and 'heretic' among the clergy. Upon his marriage to the duke's daughter, William soon discovers the treacheries of life among nobles. His jealous brother, Thomas, wishing to wrest William of his inheritance, uses his outspoken reputation against him, accusing William of joining in a demonic pact, and using witchcraft, and has him arrested.William struggles to survive the tortures long enough to prove his innocence, while fighting the demons in his own mind, and leftover scars of his childhood, but the cost of victory may be far greater than anyone could have imagined.
]]>