One legend in particular holds her fast that of Ciaran of the Mist the warrior athlete so skilled with a hurley that he was tricked by the fairies and forced to live an unending life in Tir na nOg. But because Ciaran so missed his home, the fairies decided that he could be called back once every 300 years to serve the land of his birth. As far as Mary Fallon is concerned, that time has come. Mary Fallon knows this cannot happen. She climbs the hill to the legendary Ciaran's Castle of the Dancing Mist and speaks the words that are supposed to bring him forth.
Nothing happens until a naked man with no memory steps from the mist.
Initially Mary Fallon is convinced that his strapping specimen must be her legendary hero, returned from fairies to help her stop Redmayne. But the man can't remember his name, has no clothes, no money, no place to live and can't even ride a horse. Desperate to uncover any clue that could lead to his identity, Ciaran ventures into town and quickly draws the attention of Redmayne, who quickly surmises that Ciaran is the smuggler he's looking for. Desperate to protect her hero, Fallon makes matters worse by declaring Ciaran her secret lover. When the smirky Redmayne insists the two wed, neither sees any way out of the arrangement.