Synopsis
Young Thorfinn spent his childhood listening to tales told by old sailors who had crossed the ocean and arrived at the fabled land called Vinland. According to legend, it was a warm and fertile place where no one needed to fight—nothing like the frozen Icelandic village where he was born, and certainly nothing like the life he leads now as a mercenary. War has become his home. Though his father once told him, "You have no enemies. Nobody does. There is no one it is okay to hurt," as Thorfinn grew older, he came to believe that could not be further from the truth. The ongoing conflict between England and the Danes worsens every year. Death has become ordinary, and the Viking mercenaries revel in every moment of it. By allying with either side, they can drastically shift the balance of power, and the Vikings are eager to earn reputations for themselves while taking whatever spoils they can. Amid all this chaos, Thorfinn must pursue his revenge: to kill Askeladd, the man who murdered his father. For the Vikings, it seems, the only paradise is this relentless age of war and death.
