Book one of the Rhiannon's Ride trilogy opens as a girl, known only as One-horn's pathetic excuse for a daughter, is openly shunned by the herd and in fear for her life. With no horns upon her head and walking upon only two legs instead of four, the Satyricorns despise her as a weak abomination. The only thing keeping her alive is her will to survive and the status that she's the herdleader's daughter. Life is savage, brutal and very deadly, but the wild girl has dreams and carefully makes her plans to escape.

For all her flaws, she has magic over critters and creatures, and this will come in handy, for she knows she's not fleet enough to escape the herd on her own. However, not too far away, are the beautiful black-winged horses that fly the skies like sleek and powerful birds. Capturing one of them and riding away is her only chance. One night after being forced to kill a human messenger of the guard in order to keep herself alive, she daringly traps one of the magnificent animals and ties herself to it, so that when the winged horse awakes and takes off, she can go with it without falling off. Little does she know her actions will cause her to fall not only in the land of the humans, but in love as well.

Lewen was hoping to spend his last day off silently lazing about in his favorite place. On the morrow he'd be going back to the Tower of the Two Moons with the other magic apprentices in the hopes of not only honing his magic skills, but also to win a place within Righ's guard, where he serves as page already. Suddenly, his life is changed when he finds the unconscious beauty lashed tightly to the black winged horse. Bringing the girl back home, he and his family risk life and limb to try to tame this wild girl, whom he names Rhiannon. Fiercely wild, magically endowed and very beautiful once the muck and grime have been washed away, Lewen finds his heart has already been captured by this fey and fascinating creature. Taking her with him back to the school of the mages seems like the best thing to do, and when the caravan full of mostly privileged society types shows up, Rhiannon and her magnificently winged stallion are sent off on the journey as well. Lewen's task will be to help teach her to become civilized and to protect her, even though the secrets of her past will come back to haunt them all. Soon, he'll have to choose between love and loyalty. Will he follow his honor or follow his heart?

This book, Forsyth's first since 2002, is a rich, enthralling ride across the pages of fantasy. Vividly she paints her story with bold colors, and the reader is as tied to the engrossing tale as Rhiannon is tied to her beloved winged horse. Watching as someone shunned as a handicapped misfit blossoms into a beautiful, heroic young woman makes the reader smile, even as it makes them weep as she suffers from newly awakened pains of consciousness. This is truly an amazing literary ride through a fantastically created world, where the shades of grey loom poignantly between the harsh realities of black and white. I cannot wait for the next installment to come out, so I can continue to follow this brave heroine's journey.