It is 1036. Halfdan is a Viking mercenary who is determined to travel to Constantinople and become one of the Viking Guard serving Empress Zoe. He promises to take his daughter, but one morning Solveig wakes up to find him gone. Setting off in her own tiny boat, she is determined to make the journey from Norway to the breathtaking city. Her boat is washed up, but Solveig is undeterred. What awaits Solveig as she continues on her summer journey across the world? She finds passage with Viking traders, witnesses the immolation of a young slave girl and learns to fight. She sees the clashes between those who praise her Norse Gods and the new Christians. In this perilous and exciting world, a young girl alone could be quickly endangered or made a slave. Will Solveig live to see her father again, and if she survives, will she remain free? A glittering novel that explores friendship and betrayal, the father-daughter relationship, the clash of religions and the journey from childhood to adulthood.

Solveig has made it all the way from Norway to the glittering city of Constantinople, where her father is a member of the guard of Empress Zoe. Soon Solveig finds herself caught up in the conflict between the Viking guard and the Islamic people of nearby Sicily. In this world of competing religious beliefs, brutal violence and ruthless mercenaries, Solveig must face some terrible truths about her father and her fellow Vikings, and decide what she considers worth fighting for.