Heirs of Promise�, the second part in the gripping Z-Rod trilogy set in 6th century Scotland, intriguingly contrasts the lives of Pictish cousins striving to establish themselves � one as warlord, the other as a spiritual warrior. Styling himself on the boar, Oengus uses power and wily intelligence in a bid for independence from his overlord under the gathering gloom of war. Other shadows disturb: his ousted cousin, who bears the powerful 'Z-rod�, still haunts; unrequited love for the inaccessible Alpia, consumes; and influential druids question his commitment to the volatile mother goddess. Abbot Fillan prophetically directs the exiled Taran to remake himself as a warrior-saint by acquiring nine graces. Propelled on an ominously named �white martyrdom�, Taran is tested by a series of quests and friendships to find his soul companion in his ultimate aim of �bearing fire to the north�. The plot moves forward, with clever twists and dramatic moments that intrigue and shock the reader. The characters are sensitively depicted, their struggles laid bare, making for a complex story that the reader will follow with intrigue.