The Pirate Queen

At 36, Grace salvages a shipwreck and rescues its only survivor, a handsome young man named Hugh de Lacy. She brings him to Clare Castle, where he recovers and begins to court her. Grace’s men, particularly her trusted follower Finn, are suspicious of Hugh. Finn and Gutty follow Hugh on a supposed hunting trip and discover that he’s a fraud: Three men emerge from the woods, hand Hugh a coin purse, and leave him the deer carcass they carried to make it look like he hunted it himself.

Soon after, shepherds bring Hugh’s slain body to Grace. They report seeing a MacMahon raiding party nearby. Believing that the MacMahons are responsible for killing Hugh, Grace prepares to attack their stronghold at Doona Castle. Finn suggests a more strategic plan: ambush the MacMahons on Caher Island during their annual religious pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, a conversation between Finn and his twin brother, Murray, reveals the truth: Hugh was a spy sent by the MacMahons to find weaknesses in Grace’s defenses. Finn and Murray were the ones who killed Hugh. Unaware of this, Grace leads the ambush on Caher Island. She confronts The MacMahon, and after demanding that the three killers be surrendered and threatening to burn the church roof, she executes each man. The third confesses their motive: They acted because they didn’t believe that any woman was fit to become chieftain. Grace recognizes the same reasoning from her father’s funeral. Afterward, she sails to the poorly defended Doona Castle and claims it as her own.

At 59, Grace is at Rockfleet Castle when her grandson, Young Richard, warns her that an English sheriff, acting under the command of Governor Richard Bingham, is marching through Mayo. The sheriff massacres the village of Mulranny as a pretext to hunt for Spanish sailors whom Grace is harboring. Enraged, Grace and her men track the sheriff and his soldiers, ambushing and killing them all. Young Richard personally executes the sheriff.

The massacre unites the local clans. The O’Malleys, Bourkes, and O’Flahertys join Grace in open rebellion against Bingham. Grace leads a naval assault, capturing the English-held Aran Islands. The Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir William FitzWilliam, travels from Dublin to Athlone to implement a truce already ordered by the Queen; he orders Bingham to stand down and tells him that the conflict appears to be a vendetta against Bingham personally. In a rage at being sidelined, Bingham hangs the captive son of Murrough O’Flaherty immediately after FitzWilliam departs.

Grace and the other chieftains meet FitzWilliam in Galway. They agree to a truce on two conditions: The English must recognize their chosen clan leader, and Bingham must be removed from his post as governor. Grace presents a book detailing Bingham’s crimes, along with his illegal commission authorizing the Mulranny massacre. FitzWilliam agrees to their terms. The chieftains kneel to the Crown’s agent, but as a woman without an official title, Grace is not required to.

Thirteen-year-old Grace arrives at Rockfleet Castle for her fosterage, a political and educational arrangement between clans. She and her family meet The MacWilliam, David Bourke, and his two sons: the heir, Walter Fada, and the younger Richard-an-Iarainn (Richard in Iron). They’re surprised to find that The O’Flaherty and his son, Dónal-an-Chogaidh, have also arrived for fosterage, creating immediate tension over who among the boys will be a suitor for Grace.

During the welcoming feast, Grace is seated between Walter and Donal O’Flaherty. The young men vie for Grace’s attention, and Richard asks about a scar on her neck. O’Flaherty mocks her claim that it came from a knife, but Grace’s brother, Donal, reveals that their own mother was the one who held the blade to Grace’s throat, stunning the others. Over the course of the evening, Donal becomes infatuated with a serving girl named Nora.

Later, Richard quietly offers to teach Grace how to properly use a knife. Nora delivers his message; she also reveals that she is The MacWilliam’s “illegitimate” daughter and that Walter and Richard are her half-brothers. Her secret lineage is the reason why she’s permitted to remain in the tower house. Grace meets Richard in the cellar at dawn for her first lesson. He reveals that he is also left-handed and begins teaching her knife-fighting, creating a secret bond between them.

At 36, Grace sails alone by yawl to Rockfleet Castle on the winter solstice after learning from Nora that Richard Bourke is still unmarried. She arrives before the feast guests and finds Richard, who is now The MacWilliam. He’s thrilled to see her and takes her to his private chambers.

Grace confronts him, explaining that she had assumed he was married after seeing his young son, Edmund, at her father’s funeral years prior. Richard clarifies that he had kept his promise to wait for her. He had a son with a widow named Aoife out of duty to his father to produce an heir, but it was a practical arrangement with no romance involved.

Relieved, Grace proposes marriage, but on her own terms: a trial marriage under Irish Brehon law for one year and one day, after which she alone will decide if it becomes permanent. Richard agrees immediately and announces their marriage to his guests. That night, a Brehon (Irish law expert) draws up the contract, and they sign it. Finally alone, Richard and Grace consummate their marriage, their passion fueled by two decades of waiting. He promises to teach her to find pleasure in intimacy, something her abusive first husband denied her.

At 60, Grace learns that her son Merrick has sworn loyalty to her enemy, Sir Richard Bingham. She sails to Merrick’s stronghold at Bunowen Castle, staging a distraction. While she greets her son on the beach, her other ships land men who surround the castle and burn the nearby village.

Grace confronts Merrick, holding a dagger to his throat and accusing him of betrayal. Merrick admits that he aligned with Bingham only to defeat a rival and secure his title as The O’Flaherty, a position he felt was denied him. Furious at his justification, Grace disowns him. Merrick orders his guards to kill her, but they’re quickly dispatched by Grace’s hidden archers.

As he’s being tied up, Merrick cryptically implies that something is happening at Rockfleet, telling Grace to go home and see. Bingham arrives at Rockfleet with a thousand soldiers and orders them to destroy everything. Realizing that she has been tricked, Grace leaves Merrick to his fate and sails for home, weeping in her cabin.