Best friends Deormund and Faruin, born and raised on Sceapig, are rebuilding their lives with one goal: how to retake the island for the Saxons. After meeting the young Aetheling Alfred, the two young men are rewarded with status and power by King Alfred, and become his chief advisers as the Vikings threaten to overwhelm all England.
Risking his life to expand Wessex into one perfect Saxon kingdom, Alfred is only too aware of the horrific fate of King Aella of Northumbria, who met his end by the Viking torture method known as the blood eagle. Can the three succeed in their plans, and what price will they have to pay to realize their dreams?