No Defense, Volume 1.
1920
The Irish landscape has rarely been rendered with such loving intensity as in this tale of love and upheaval. Dyck Calhoun moves through the green hills and contentious villages of late nineteenth-century Ireland like a man already marked by history: impulsive, passionate, and caught between the world his father wants him to inherit and the fire consuming his nation. When he meets Sheila Llyn, their connection is immediate and innocent, a spark the novel treats with genuine tenderness. But Ireland in this era offers no sanctuary for young lovers caught in the current of rebellion and political turmoil. When Dyck and Sheila discover Christopher Dogan, an injured peasant by the roadside, the act of mercy sets in motion destinies that will pull them toward conflict. Parker's novel explores what loyalty costs when every choice seems to betray something precious. This first volume of a larger saga treats romance and nationhood as inseparable forces, each shaping the other, each demanding sacrifice.
![Michel and Angele [A Ladder of Swords] — Complete](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd3b2n8gj62qnwr.cloudfront.net%2FGOODREADS_COVERS%2Febook-6253.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
![Michel and Angele [A Ladder of Swords] — Volume 1](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd3b2n8gj62qnwr.cloudfront.net%2FGOODREADS_COVERS%2Febook-6250.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
