With the Empress Matilda about to marry the Count of Anjou, Alfraed is thrown into a world of intrigue and treachery as he tries to hold on to the North. When he succeeds he finds that he is punished and sent to the east by King Henry and his family held hostage in the Tower of London. He finds himself embroiled in plots and campaigns there where he finally serves with his father's old comrades; the Varangian Guards.