Northman, eldest son of Ealdorman Leofwine, husband, father and brother almost snatched a moment of peace when King Swein of Denmark helped himself to the English throne, and Aethelred removed himself to the Court of Duke Richard II of Normandy, his brother by marriage.
But when Swein unexpectedly dies weeks after his coronation, England is once more plunged into strife and war, for who will succeed to the throne now?
Leofwine, ex-enemy and sometime friend of Swein of Denmark, is given an unenviable task on the short-lived King's deathbed, one he will struggle to accomplish without compromising himself, his family, and oaths already given.