It is the fifteenth century, and France is under siege. English soldiers tear through the countryside destroying all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. And in the quiet of her parents' garden in Domremy, a peasant girl sees a spangle of light and hears a powerful voice speak her name. "Jehanne", "The Maid" is more than the story of Jehanne d'Arc, the visionary and saint who believed she had been chosen by God to lead an army. Cutter's retelling of Jehanne-the girl-whose sister was murdered by the English, who sought an escape from a violent father and a forced marriage, and who somehow found the courage and tenacity to persuade first one, then two, then thousands to follow her, is at once thrilling, unexpected, and heartbreaking.