“A multilayered plot, intriguing characters and lyrical prose” Publishers Weekly

“An engrossing, beautifully written work of historical fiction” Booklist

Growing up on a farm in Rogaland, Norway, Eyvind has always wanted to become a Wolfskin warrior like his big brother Eirik, and fight for his leader in the name of the god Thor. When Eirik asks him to watch over a troubled boy, Somerled, Eyvind promises to do so. He and Somerled swear a solemn oath of brotherhood, sealed in blood.

A world away, in the chain of islands now known as Orkney, Nessa, a princess of the Folk, begins her training to become a priestess of the Light Isles and learn the ways of the mysteries.

Years later Eyvind, now a highly regarded Wolfskin warrior, travels with an expedition led by Somerled’s much respected brother, Ulf, to found a new settlement on the beautiful islands rumoured to lie across the western sea. Somerled, too, is on board. The expedition begins badly, with a tragic event on one of the ships. Something tells Eyvind that it may not have been an accident …

In spite of the ill omen, the expedition reaches the islands, and Ulf’s new settlement is set up in a spirit of cooperation with the original inhabitants, the Folk. That harmony is disrupted when, on a trip to a holy place of the Folk, a brutal murder occurs. The ties of his boyhood oath now trouble Eyvind, as he realises what sort of future Somerled imagined for himself all those years ago …