In a gambit to become the power behind the Danish and English thrones, Askeladd has taken the prince, Canute, and plunged deep into a winter storm behind enemy lines. Canute's father, King Sweyn, gives him up for dead in his haste to suppress English resistance. But Askeladd's small band can't outrun the tenacious maniac Thorkell forever, and when the warriors finally clash, a storm of sweat and gore ensues that will turn a boy into a man and a hostage...

"After the assassination of King Sweyn and the execution of Askeladd, Thorfinn lost the object of his vengeane, his sense of purpose, and his freedom. Now a broken young man, he labors far from the battlefield, clearing a forest for his slave master's farm alongside the amiable Einar. But a sudden and brutal tragedy will shock Thorfinn out of his apathy, and force him to answer the question, 'Do I still want to live?'"--p. [4] of cover.

Set in medieval England during the Viking invasions, this saga follows the adventures of Thorfinn, a young Viking warrior driven by his twin desires to avenge his father's death and reach the free and peaceful land Leif Ericson called Vinland.