“The world is filled with unlikely heroes.”Norway, 880 A.D.
Sixteen-year-old Freydis and her older brother, Toki are awaiting the arrival of their Viking leader father, Ohthere after being away for almost a year. Unbeknownst to them, he will be leaving immediately to hunt down Sulke the Pirate, with whom he holds a blood grudge against. But before Ohthere’s arrival home, Sulke attacks the stronghold. After being wounded in the upper leg, Freydis is hidden by Toki in the new privy hole during the raid. When she crawls out of the hole when all is cleared, she sees nothing but complete devastation and soon realizes that Toki is now Sulke’s prisoner.
Before Ohthere goes home, he stops to make a trade with a silversmith. At the shop he sees Blue Man, aka Enno, a man from the North African coast who has lived as a slave in the north most of his life. Enno refuses to act like a slave since he was a prince in Africa. Ohthere decides to purchase Blue Man as Freydis’ first slave and bodyguard. Upon his arrival home, he is stunned to see only Freydis remaining. Ohthere is a cruel father who values his son and doesn’t believe Freydis is his daughter. In her weakened state, she is carried aboard the ship and sets sail in an attempt to rescue Toki. As the voyage continues, Enno and the crew begin to feel pity for the girl over her father’s outright rejection.
The story is told in alternating perspectives of Freydis and her journey of self worth and Toki’s imprisonment with Sulke and leads up to the epic battle with a surprising ending.
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