There had been a forge ar Anford for about a thousand years, but not until the twentieth century was the blacksmith a woman. From a childhood and adolescence scarred by rejection and loneliness, the forge became Ann Mayall's sanctuary, and the traditions of its craft brought her success, security, and the tentative beginnings of friendship. 

But the new owners of the neighbouring manor see her presence as a threat, although she doesn't know why. She rejects their increasingly large offers to purchase her inheritance. Hostility and intimidation fail to move her, so they revert to more violence; if she will not leave, she must die - but they have not reckoned on Ann's formidable physical strength.

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