In famine-stricken old Ireland, hunger stalks the peasant cottage, the woods, and even the soul. When Shemus Rua brings home a dead wolf, the household's brief hope of food gives way to dread, as Countess Cathleen, her poet-companion Aleel, and a company of musicians pass through a landscape steeped in poverty, superstition, and spiritual peril. Soon two richly dressed merchants appear with gold and wine, offering survival in exchange for trust—and, more terrifyingly, for souls. As starvation erodes faith and judgment, Maire denounces the strangers as destroyers, while Shemus begins to yield to their temptations. At Cathleen's castle, grief deepens into resolve. Comforted by Oona's songs of the heroic past, Cathleen hears of theft, ruin, and rumors of soul-buying in the woods. When desperate peasants confess they have sold their souls for money, she chooses sacrifice over safety and vows to sell her wealth to feed the starving. Aleel urges her to flee, but she stays, embracing prayer and duty as dark forces close in. Amid this moral and supernatural struggle, even theft becomes prophetic, as poverty, revolt, and redemption collide. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.