I loved the way the author accomplished the telling of this story in these different layers of communication to the reader. Foul, too, is its inmate whose high, girlish voice spoke of kindness and good deeds - but I am not tricked by that. More than once Corrag checks herself – "But I race ahead" – and one finds oneself impatiently wishing that she would. The historical details of this book are woven into the story like a delicate and beautiful spider web, soft and seemingly fragile – not overbearing – but with strength and grace and functionality. Among others, there was Doideag of Mull, Gormshuil of Moy, Laorag of Tiree and Maol-odhar of Kintyre.

However, they reluctantly signed a loyalty oath to William to keep their clan safe--but signed six days late. It was a quiet, night-time valley which I crept into, with mud and moths in my hair… It was cool air, with the sea’s breath. Corrag has found companionship in her final days and Leslie learns to see whe world through fresh eyes. As the story begins, Corrag is chained to a cell in Inverary awaiting her death at the stake while being treated worse than an animal. A small, scraggly, feral-like girl, Corrag and her mother, Cora, are labeled “witch” and “hag” and are never really able to live among people easily - Cora warning Corrag that love can never be with their kind.She tells her story to Charles, who believes at first she should be executed, but as Corrag tells her story. A great read for anyone who enjoys novels set in Scotland or readers who enjoy historical fiction where a story is created around an epic event. Indeed, Corrag’s story becomes woven into the story of the McDonald clan, but also with the story of an Irish pastor who comes to visit her as she awaits execution. Horrified, the locals who knew of the legend of Corrag immediately cast the sword back into the loch, hoping that they had done enough.

I felt as if I sat with Charles in that cell and grew to understand and love Corrag throughout the course of the novel.

Corrag was a nasty, dirty creature in chains in a dark and dank prison cell, and Reverend Leslie was a pious, self satisfied jerk. Be aware of a blood-red skirt, a man "brimming with words", a look that is "owl-wise and cat-sly", second-sight.