Thorgal, a young skald living a tenuous existence within a Viking tribe, has given his word to save the Minkelsönn sisters, who have been cursed to live as whales. The village is starving, though, and Thorgal has very little time to save the sisters' souls before they kill the whales for their meat. He sets off on an adventure to beg the gods for their help. But Freyja, Odin, Ænir, and the rest of the Norse gods are not so easily bargained with. Thorgal will have to use all of his cunning, singing, and luck to save the Norn sisters...