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The top half of the body of the young man lay crushed beneath that of a horse. The old Viking's eye was caught by the gold ring on a finger of the dead body - obviously a person of some consequence. Stooping to take a closer look, he noticed the surcoat worn over the chain mail - expensive material, some sort of heraldic device thereon. Puzzled by the swollen abdomen, his first thought - instantly rejected - was of bloating, but these people had just died...
Olaf Svensen had seen too much violence and grief in a long and eventful life to be overly sentimental, but he did feel a pang of sorrow. Without thinking he put his hand down almost as a sort of blessing, upon the swollen belly.
Only to jump back, alarmed. For at his touch, he had distinctly felt a strong kick – from the baby inside. Seemingly impossible, this was a pregnant woman; still alive, though barely.
Although fatally crushed by the body of the horse, Olaf had felt for and detected a faint pulse.
Taking out his knife, Olaf prepared to do the merciful thing - just plunge his blade deep into the woman. Instead he found himself carefully cutting into her belly. quickly lifting out the small, dark looking infant, covered in the whitish birth vernix. He stared at this tiny creature, it's eyes squeezed tight against the sudden exposure to light.
With this dramatic birth begins the remarkable life of Jonas Svensen, wandering through medieval Europe, fighting battles of his own and on behalf of others. A tale of heroes and dastardly deeds, of brutal violence and the grace of good people, told with humour and an eye to historical accuracy.
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The saga of the eponymous hero Brendan Kinneen is seen against a background of stirring historical events, peopled by actual historic persons playing their part in those earliest days of european settlement in what is now Australia.
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Although himself fictional, Kinneen stands as a metaphor for the countless Irish patriots sentenced to penal servitude for their 1798 rising against British domination. ironically, it was the eventual blending of these two warring peoples which has contributed to the Australian national consciousness and character.
1852 - The discovery of gold at Ballarat has engulfed the fledgling settlement of Victoria, with Melbourne in a mad building boom.
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The harbour choked with abandoned ships, crews deserting on hearing the news - gold rush! Other ships arrive crowded with men from gold fields of California, the Yukon, China.
Early twentieth century, the States federate to become the Commonwealth of Australia.
At almost the same time, committing troops to the conflict in South Africa. Set within the context of this military campaign, is the drama of the young heiress Audrey Farquar.