This is a very Irish and poetic work of prose from a great writer little read these days. The story is based on ancient Irish hero tales, particularily 'The Hostel of Da Derga'. It is a very simple but engaging tale of four brothers, sons of a swordmaker, living in Gaul around the time of Christ. Each brother is different and unique as are their fates. There is a magic in the writing that is unusual, a poetic turn of phrase and a feel for the strangeness of life. It is essentially an ancient heroic tale about the fascination men have with female beauty and the beauty of valour and heroic name, yet it exposes both for the tragic cost that both can entail.