Irene Radford, Guardian of the Freedom - Since the time of Merlin, the Pendragons have been charged with keeping Britain safe from her enemies. Drake Pendragon is the present head of the family and the society of magical practitioners; however King George III, unfamiliar with the British heritage, does not believe in the power of the Pendragon. Drake's sister Georgina, unwilling to stay a helpless female, runs away and hires herself as a mercenary to England's enemies.

Her brother suffers from ill health and relies on his distant cousin Dr. Millen Marlowe who has the ear of the king. Marlowe wants to bring his eldest who was killed in the colonies back to life, but to do that he must enter the archives that are heavily guarded by wards. Another son Barclay, a soldier in King George's army in the New World, has summoned a demon to cause chaos; when the time is right, he will grab the power his father covets. Georgina fights for the rights of the people who choke under English rule while across the sea; her cousin Emily does her best to keep Marlowe and his minions in check. A magical battle looms and if the forces of good lose, England will dissolve into chaos.

The fifth book in Merlin's Descendants retains the freshness and excitement that the previous books contained. Georgina would be more at home in the twenty-first century with her ideas of women's rights, but her love for the mortal Major Roderick Whythe keeps her grounded and happy and he is wise enough to give her the freedom she needs. Irene Radford uses actual historical events and intertwines them with the Pendragon magic to create a fascinating and riveting tale.

Harriet Klausner