A.D. 789. Thorwulf, the adopted son of a Norse King, is sent with his friend and adoptive brother, Einar, on a trading voyage. A misunderstanding with the locals leads to violence but both soon prove their worth and go on to make names for themselves as warriors.

Thorwulf and Einar's friendship is tested, however, when Einar's Saxon slave, Edith, is revealed to be marked by the gods. The visits and prophecies of a mysterious woman, Thyra, cause the King to free Edith from slavery and marry her off to Thorwulf. This act begins to unravel Thorwulf and Einar's friendship.

In a story set at the beginning of the Norse age, Thorwulf travels to lands of Wessex, Iona and Orkney in the hope that he can not only make a name for himself but also escape the plans the Gods seem to have made for him and his family. Will Thyra's prophesies lead him and his family to greatness or to ruin?