Your animals are unique, five ordinary cats who share the mind-and sometimes the body-of one great predator. They have opened a new door into the heart of creation; their future must be allowed to unfold. Circe, the Enchantress After her mother's death, Astrid Lund inherits five ordinary house cats her mother had nicknamed The Swarm for their habit of converging on each new mischief as if they shared a single mind. Soon, Astrid discovers that this behavior reflects an extraordinary physical ability. When threatened, the cats join their bodies to become a single, deadly predator Astrid comes to name Swarm. Transported against her will to the time and place of Swarm's origin-The Homeric Bronze Age-Astrid learns that her cats are the prize in a bitter struggle between an insane demigod who plans to exploit the animals' abilities for his dark purposes and Circe, Homer's dangerous, capricious enchantress. As their conflict and the Trojan war rage around her, Astrid fights to protect her animals and return home. Helped by a woman who was taken as a spoil of war but who has achieved a position of influence through courage and intelligence, by an aging warrior who longs for one last honorable quest, and by a young girl who has escaped slavery through an act of violence, Astrid uncovers the mysteries of her mother's past and Swarm's origin-and ultimately faces her own terrifying transformation. Swarm Metamorphosis is a magical realist adventure that will appeal to people who love historical fantasy, complex heroines and heroes, and the animals whose intelligence and independence have long fascinated us.