Told by the stranger Ferryman, the tales follow the fortunes of a family destined to live through that most terrible of times, the rise of one civilization and the fall of another. Before Rome became an empire, Caesar looked north, to the Gauls, eying their lands and wealth hungrily. Book One tells of the events leading up to his first campaigns from the viewpoint of the ancient Celtic tribes, notably the Veneti of the northwestern Atlantic coasts, and their leaders at that time, Vercingetorix, Cassivellaunus, Ambiorix, and lastly, the most enigmatic of all, Commius. It begins with the escape of the slave, Gallin, from the destruction of Spartacus and his journey home to his ancestral lands. But it is long before he finds his place within his tribe again; warrior, uncle, merchant, from him the tales pass to his niece and nephew, and the tribal warfare that sweeps them up. Just when peace seems to have been established, Caesar begins to march and the Veneti are threatened on the very coasts they call home. With an epic sweep that owes as much to Asterix and Obelix as it does to ancient Irish mythology, The Seeds of the Storm begins a cycle of stories that will range from Britain to France and Belgium, to Rome itself, told by the mysterious Ferryman who may be more than he seems.
