After her mother was murdered by a yellow-haired warrior and her family's house on the island of Shalott was burned to ashes, the 8-year-old Elaine of Ascolat goes to live with her two brothers, Lavain and Tirry, and her father in a British army encampment.

Over the years Elaine grows into a beautiful 16-year-old girl and performs all of the menial, household tasks and healing for the camp's soldiers.

As one of the only two women in the camp (the other being Morgan), Elaine feels somewhat awkward but finds herself flattered when Lancelot tells her that she is a grown woman.

They escape by digging their way out of their prison and Elaine decides to serve as a distraction for Gwynivere, who runs off to warn Arthur.

Elaine manages to make her way to the river and just before she can climb inside a boat and escape, a Saxon arrow pierces her chest.

Upon returning to camp they all gather at the round table where Arthur invites everyone to start a new life and city with him in that very location.

[3][4][5] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and Kliatt both praised the work, with the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books writing "Even with the feminine perspective and heavy emphasis on love, the effectively creepy descriptions of the prophesying Merlin, the terse metaphors of blood and war, and the undeniable masculinity of the camp are effective selling points to extend the audience.

[8] Booklist gave Song of the Sparrow a mixed review, criticizing its "improbable conclusion" and commenting that its "distilled nature does not always allow for the rich detail and development that many readers seek in historical fiction" while also remarking that "the unadorned writing style reflects Sandell's magic-flee interpretations, rooting the characters in the bloody business of pre-Camelot power wrangling.