When Carys is married off at seventeen to an ageing, childless widower, she has no choice but to make the best of it. Jone Farmer has offered a high bride-price - and Carys' father is a greedy man.
Jone, however, proves kind and generous. Carys has money to spend, status in the district and, sensitive to the difference in their ages, Jone does not even demand from her his rights as a husband. But Carys has no desire to remain a virgin. To ease her frustration she invents an imaginary lover for herself, in the unlikely guise of the tattered scarecrow that stands in Jone's field.
It's only a game. But when an encounter with the Wayfarers - the travelling folk known for their magical, healing skills - gives Carys the chance to turn her fantasy into something far more real, the temptation is too great to resist.
The fulfilment of Carys' desperate wish is heady wine - but with it comes a second and far more dangerous temptation. If she yields to it, it could lead her on a journey to her heart's ultimate desire. Or to her soul's ultimate destruction . . .
