Publisher's Synopsis
In the stirring tradition of Northern Europe's heroic sagas, award-winning novelist Guy Gavriel Kay brings to life an unforgettable world balanced on the knife-edge of change.
For generations, the Erlings of Vinmark have taken their dragon-prowed ships across the seas, raiding the lands of less warlike people, leaving fire and death behind. A young Erling man, Bern Thorkellson has been living a life of slavery at home since his father's exile. He is desperate to regain his freedom and emerge from the taint that marks his family. His opportunity arrives when he escapes and joins a group of elite mercenaries. The warriors form a raiding party destined for the coastlines of their more peaceful neighbors, but what they discover there will lead to unexpected consequences. In a tale woven with consummate artistry, people of three cultures will find the threads of their lives dramatically entwined.
