The Crown of Muirnin

Nine years ago, just before her thirteenth birthday, Shannon Maguire's parents died on a southern Indiana highway, victims of foul murder. Shannon now lives with her Uncle Aonghus and Nanny Mary on the east side of Evansville, Indiana.On her twenty-second birthday, she spies a leprechaun in the back yard. Intent on making contact with the leprechaun, she rushes out the back door. As she steps onto the back porch, she falls into the Devil's Tomb, an inky black place from which, according to legend, no one can escape. With the help of the leprechaun, they escape land in the parallel world of Muirnin.In a day filled with surprises and frightening changes, Shannon learns she is the Crown Princess of Muirnin, a land peopled by fairies, elves, goblins, dragons, dwarves, and... there are more than she can name; cheering her escape from the Devil's Tomb and proclaiming her their Princess.Not everyone welcomes the arrival of the Princess. Chief among the dissenters is Prince Olcán, who most likely thrust her into the Devil's Tomb and who has stolen the Crown of Muirnin. Prince Olcán, of the Unseelie race, believes the tradition of having a human Queen is a mistake. He seeks the crown for himself and an unknown woman who in the Palace.The Wizard Edwulf Magusson explains to her that she may stay in Muirnin for two weeks. She learns that a potential war could destroy both Muirnin and Earth. Edwulf tells her she must accept the Elves' Summons to find the Crown of Muirnin and ascend to the throne. She must interpret the Irish Summons to find where Olcán hid the Crown.An Unseelie messenger attempts to sneak out of the Palace with a message from the unknown woman. The message encoded; it appears to be a meaningless string of numbers. Edwulf tasks Shannon and Lieutenant Ceallaigh with decoding the message. At the end of the two weeks, there is a Royal Reception, complete with a banquet, the presentation of the Elves' Summons and a ball. Forced to dance with Prince Olcán, she argues with him and ejects him from the Palace. Latter, she dances a waltz with Lieutenant Ceallaigh and becomes even more charmed by the attractive officer.Returning to her home world, she learns that her two life-long friends, Erin and James, are also natives of Muirnin. At the insistence of Uncle Aonghus, she and her friends make one more of her annual visits to her Aunt Margaret in Chicago.On the final evening of the visit, Shannon learns her aunt is a stepsister to her mother and Uncle Aonghus, explaining why Aunt Margaret looks different from her siblings. Margaret intends to marry Olcán and take the throne for herself - an honor she thinks is hers by virtue of her lineage. She warns Shannon not to interfere,The three friends return to Muirnin. With the help of the lieutenant and Lady Katherine, they continue parsing the coded message to find what it means. Meanwhile, Shannon continues to translate the Elves' Summons.The Summons points them to something referred to as "the last place." No one knows where that place might be but other clues in the Summons suggest some ideas of places to check out.More ominous is the coded messages which speaks of the failure to kill Shannon or frighten her off. It further suggests kidnapping someone close to Shannon. The evil platters believe she will renounce the throne if innocent people for whom she cares are threatened.The young woman must put aside her personal issues and her fascination with Lieutenant Ceallaigh to find the crown. Does she have the strength to defeat Olcán and claim the Throne? Will a final war destroy both of her worlds? Shannon is not certain but she knows she will try. She is willing to sacrifice her life, if necessary, to save it. She intends to wear the Crown of Muirnin.