Breaca is a talented fighter, but her real interest is in breeding and training horses; for once, we get a picture of ancient Britain in which economic activity is a serious factor. Scott has an imaginative sympathy with opposed ways of life--Breaca's brother Ban spends time as a slave in Roman territory before being rescued by a Roman friend, and he comes to see much of what is worst and also what is best about Rome. This is the best sort of historical fiction--exciting, full of a sense of how different times feel, and also intelligent about historical issues; Scott knows that at the point when historical events happen, they seem as if they are open chances.