Publisher's Synopsis
Born in Birka, a Viking trading center built on an island west of today's Stockholm, Sweden, Ivar is a 16-year-old boy who has hopes for the first time of finding happiness with a slave-girl from Mercia. However, his high hopes end in year 988 when his Dad, Halvdan, sends her to the slave markets in the east and forces him to accompany him on new raids. It proves to be a life-altering journey that changes them forever. Two years later, Halvdan joins the Varangian guard in Constantinople, yearning to find a better life. Unfortunate chain of events brings Ivar to Upper Mesopotamia in 997. When he arrives in Miafarqin, searching for his Dad, he falls in love with Vesta, an attractive Kurdish, Zoroastrian doctor, and she in turn falls in love with him. They decide to bind their fates in a time when a ruthless invasion and a large-scale, lamentable migration into Kurdland are still ongoing, and when the Kurds vow to fight for their freedom, determined to win a persistent battle for survival. As the new normal begins to emerge, the bloodthirsty invaders are breathing fear and tyranny into Vesta's society. A vicious attack occurs in her house - Vesta and her children are destined to face the intruders alone.
