September 1066. The largest Viking army ever to set foot in England has captured York, the capital of Northumbria, and destroyed the Saxons' Army of the North. Coenred, one of the last surviving huscarl warriors, leads the remnant of that army south to Tadcaster in hopes of meeting the power that the King of the Saxons must send to rescue his kingdom. Within the city walls his lover Mildryth remains, living under the rule of their ancient enemy, in the shadow of the man who murdered her husband. King Harold sits in the Palace of Westminster, watching for the Duke of Normandy, the man he believed poses the greatest threat to his crown. King Harald Hardrada of Norway has taken him totally by surprise and the Viking has not come alone. Tostig Godwinson, the exiled former Eorl of Northumbria, has turned traitor in his quest for vengeance on the man he believes engineered his fall from grace; his own brother, the King of England. As the long English summer slips into autumn the world of the Saxons descends into the shadow of war. Their fight is a bitter struggle not just to resist invaders but to save themselves from total destruction. Across the Vale of York great armies march to clash once again at Stamford Bridge. King Hardrada of Norway, the War Wolf of legend, holds all the cards. King Harold of England is caught between two enemies. Coenred and his men, defeated at Fulford Gate, draw their swords, form their shield-wall, and plunge themselves once more into the crucible of battle but the huscarl fights not for his king, not for his lord, he fights for Mildryth and the dream of peace that she holds for him.