[1] It depicts the wars between the Irish Uí Bhriain and the English de Clares for control of the Thomond region of Ireland, drawing from contemporary sources for details.
The preface to the first volume discusses the start of the English invasion of Ireland, and the subsequent struggle of the various dynasties to remain independent.
There are a few specific banshees that are described in the text; all three are portrayed as women, one beautiful—representing the "Sovereignty of Erin", and whose place in folklore faded over time—and one or two that are ugly, representing its despair.
The ugly hags, surrounded by mutilated bodies and described in grotesque detail, foretell doom of armies, Irish and Norman alike, to their commanders, who do not heed the warning and press on to their eventual destruction.
This depiction of the banshee washing the bodies and armor of the doomed in blood has drawn parallels to the Gaelic tradition of the Washer in the Ford.