In his award-winning series The Interregnum, author Rick Sutcliffe features (among others) alternate Earth Hibernia, and its struggles over the disposition of the kingdom after the King is banished. But how did Hibernia come to be the superpower which that series found it? Who were the men and women who founded and nurtured the kingdom during the two millenium of its existence? What were their passions, aspirations, successes, and failures? And what role did the exceptionally long-lived Samadeya-Qayin play over his latest centuries? Sutcliffe's new series The Throne tells the story of many of her High Kings and High Queens, whether saints or rogues, wise or fools, from 1014 through the great betrayal that saw uncrowned James IV deposed in 1941 and banished for sixty years, and to the second battle of Glenmorgan in 2001 that determined the fate of the kingship. Some of these events were hinted at or described in accompanying historical notes in the first six Books of The Interregnum, but are here explained in full--and not always as the historians had originally believed, for now, thanks to polymath and sword wizard Lucas Caine, numerous diaries and journals of the eleventh, fourteenth and fifteenth century have been decrypted, and the secrets of the fifteenth century's greatest leaders, including Admiral Amy Rea's "great secret" have been revealed.

Paladin or is the sequel to Culmanic Parts, Rae's Blood, and Tara's Mother, concluding the story of two long-lived and hard-to-kill men, Samadeya-Qayin and Pelik-Qayin, alternate continuations of the repentant and unrepentant Cain respectively, always deadly enemies, once Thor and Odin, but in the last millenium duelling over the High Kingship of Ireland.

Paladin picks up from the late fifteenth century from the perspective of the semi-legendary Paladin who joins their conflict. She also has the long-life curse and is tasked with keeping Samadeya's nose to the grindstone down through the centuries that see the taking and retaking of the Hibernian throne. When any of the three is killed Heaven reorganizes some remaining body parts to begin over, perhaps with memory loss for a time. In extreme cases (say, dismemberment) the result may be in infant who must grow to apparent age in the mid twenties before recovering memories. This is also the story of the Paladin's search for her own identity, for she has no memories before appearing half-burned, tumbling down a hill of garbage at Dublin City Dump in 1492.

Moreover, the deciphered journals of Amy Rea, Ameythyst Meathe, and the Paladin describe a history not in accord with that taught by historians. It seems both Samadeya and the Paladin have deliberately obfuscated the account of their lives.

Short, interleaved chapters also tell of Karina Tansey, known from earlier books in The Interregnum to have been a significant character at the time of The First Battle of Glenmorgan. How and why did Katherina Rourke assume Karina's identity, and what really happened when the Devereaux manse was torched after the battle?

Paladin or Time Out of Heart is simultaneously the conclusion to The Interregnum, for other interleaved chapters and the concluding section tell the story of the definitive last battle in Ireland's 20000-2001 civil war that could end civilization as they know it. The RA forces are outnumbered, and racist, anti-religious foe Philip Desmond has gathered forbidden weapons, and many allies.

Can RA General Mara Meathe gather resources and intelligence sufficient to turn the tide of battle? What of the wild cards:
--Eric MacCarthy, who has gathered a third army, and could decide the battle for his uncle Philip?
--prodigy, military strategist, but angst-filled Lucas Caine who she had counted on for help, but...
--the seriously damaged Tirdian constable who has been thrust into the Hibernaian fray by Tirdia's RCMP to investigate Desmond's mob connections?

But even as this conflict plays out, several women begin dreaming of past events--the Paladin's life playing out in their sleep. One of them must be the Paladin awakening from a hard reset, but recovering the memories of that trauma and those from before 1492 could drive her mad. Who can help her recover her true identity intact?

Will the Pelik-Desmond-Monde secrets be discovered in time to prevent several catastrophes? Can Mara recover from devastating losses? What secret is Nellie Hacker agonizing over? Can Tadgh O'Kelley recover from the loss of Cath to Desmond's assassins? Where in the Timestream did Lucas put the newly fissioned Earth after the nexus he triggered? What became of the Builder and his daughter Eider?

Events of Paladin play out on Hibernia, in the Royal Army Naval Corps (RANC) in Spanish Waters, at Mount Sainte Jean, on a mad dash from Waterford to Tara, and in the 1941 uprising at Tara.