The hill below the fortress of Taurovinda, stronghold of Urtha, High King of the Cornovidi, is coming alive: the Otherworldly realm of the Shadows of Heroes are claiming the land as their own. But this time their actions are driven by a force that is darker and older than even the oldest among the ghosts. Who or what is raising the Dead? Merlin, a temporary resident in the fortress, must answer that question if this time of kings and lovers is to be saved. Jason's wonderful ship, Argo, has returned, drawn back by her own guilty past, and a dreadful secret that she will reveal only to Merlin. Argo holds the key to the mystery. And Niiv, the bewitching, beautiful Northlands enchantress, is working her way even closer into Merlin's charms. This is a journey that will take Merlin back in history, and to a fabled island of legend. Love is in the air. But at a price. In this third volume of the Merlin Codex, Robert Holdstock weaves myth and history into a fabulous tale of honour, vengeance and magic. At its centre, moving along his never-ending path, is Merlin himself, an enchanter in the prime of his life, feckless, curious, powerful, yet a stranger to his own past — and a man about find a true and honourable use for his talents.

Merlin is almost young, and immortal, one of those born to walk the paths of the world, a man with charm carved into his bones, and enchantment running through his body thicker than blood... And this is a time of heroes, centuries before King Arthur is born, men and women who, though not gods themselves, are something more than mere mortals. For decades, Jason has been immured in his ship Argo in a lake in the far north, alive, but not, still traumatised by the murder of his sons by his enchantress wife Medea... until Merlin sees through the veil of enchantment and realises the boys were never killed; it was all a trick. Through the mists-shrouded isle of Alba to Greek Land, Merlin leads Jason and his Argonauts, some old, some new, on a quest to find the boys, journey filled with heroism and heartbreak, truth and treachery.

Seven centuries have passed since Merlin journeyed with Jason and his Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece. Merlin is immortal, but when he uses the charm that is knit deep in his bones, his body ages — and he has no wish to be old, so rather than squander his magic, he prefers to rely on his own intelligence and cunning. Now the mage finds himself in Alba, the Island of Mists, beset by enemies both dead and Otherworldly, seeking both the children of the warlord Urtha, who have been kidnapped and taken to Ghostland, and Jason's younger son, Kinos (Little Dreamer), hidden by his enchantress mother, Medea in the Otherworld.And now Merlin must use not just his own cunning and centuries of knowledge, but also the magic that permeates his body if he is to save his friends from fates truly worse than death itself.