Uhtred is a Saxon, cheated of his inheritance, adrift in a world of fire and treachery. He has to make a choice: whether to fight for the Vikings who raised him, or for King Alfred who dislikes him.
Wessex is the last English kingdom. Assembling the Great Army, the Vikings have only one ambition - to conquer Wessex. When they attack out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred finds himself on Alfred's side. Alfred and Uhtred make unlikely allies. The king is a pious Christian; Uhtred is a pagan. Alfred is a sickly scholar; Uhtred is an arrogant warrior. Yet the two forge an uneasy alliance that will lead them out of the marshes to the stark hilltop where the last remaining Saxon army will fight for the very existence of England.