It’s 1022 AD. In Norway, the balance of power is poised between two mighty men — King Olaf, full of new ideas about central government, and Erling Skjalgsson, defender of the old democracy. Two worlds are watching as they contend — the familiar world we live in, and the unseen world around us, full of witches and elves and the dead who walk in the night.

Erling is fighting for survival, and for the future of the land. The steps he must take aren’t always gentle ones. At his side is his Irish priest, Father Ailill, concerned that Erling might gain the world and lose his soul. Concerned, also, about Erling’s nephew Asbjorn, a proud young man inclined to cut corners with the law.