An Irish mercenary knight joins William of Normandy for the invasion of England, and faces a stark choice at Hastings, in this "powerful" novel (The New York Times).

In The Firedrake, an Irish mercenary knight in the eleventh century, in a constant personal battle with the rest of the world, joins William of Normandy for the invasion of England. There at Hastings he has to choose between power and wealth, and his personal demons of pride and honor. The New York Times called Cecelia Holland "a literary phenomenon" in its review of this book, recognizing a stellar creative achievement by a young writer in her first published work.