As Celeste nurses Roel back to health, the two fall in love. Celeste would like for him to stay with her but Roel is on a mission to save his sister and two others from the Lord of the Changelings. His sister is virginal and will lose her virginity, be made pregnant and lose her soul if Roel cannot save her.

In the tradition of all true love Celeste chooses to travel with Roel and help in his quest. Along the way the two lovers travel a route dictated by a map they have recovered. The map takes then through many kingdoms and they face many trials including an Ogre, solve Fate's riddles and navigate the Sirenes.

Dennis K McKiernan's series of seasonal novels all use old fairytales that he recreates to tell his own story. In Once Upon a Spring Morn he is retelling the "Childe Roland" fairy tale.

The book is well paced, and it is a pleasure to once again read a fairy tale where the female character is just as strong and determined as the male.