One hundred years after the Great Surchatain Roman of Lystra . . . At the spring fair, the beautiful Chataine Renée meets 17-year-old Nicole, daughter of a humble tailor, and insists that she come for a visit to the palace at Westford. Raised in a peasant village on the coast, Nicole is unprepared for the sophistication and treachery of palace life-but her father has decreed that she must acquire a rich or noble husband. Nicole's prospects include Counselor Carmine, handsome but disinterested; Commander Ares, who carries the pain of his past; and possibly even Surchatain Cedric himself. But these are dark times for Lystra, and Nicole discovers that in the presence of evil, even good men may veil the truth. Nicole of Prie Mer is the first book of the nine Latter Annals of Lystra. Book Two is Ares of Westford.