On an expedition to Westland in search of timber, Thora Thorvinnsdottir continues to be caught in the web of her estranged husband's cruel animosity. Thora's countrymen abandon her in a narrow escape from an ambush by a band of native Westlanders. Stranded in an unfamiliar land when their ship departs, Thora nearly succumbs to despair. Then she discovers that Elkimu, the Norsemen's young Westlander captive, has also been left behind.

Over time, what has begun as a liaison necessary for survival evolves into love. When Thora returns with Elkimu to Unamakik, his homeland, she devotes herself wholeheartedly to integrating with the Ellenu people and culture. When Elkimu's family ultimately banishes her, she returns to her own people only to discover that her name does not, in fact, reflect who she truly is. Thora finds herself torn between two worlds-and rejected by both.

Thora's quest for love and an ever-elusive sense of belonging leads to intimacy and alienation, to birth and rebirth, and to the clashing of worlds-one world in which she sojourns, and the other she finds within herself, from the land of fog to clear skies....