Ninth century Norway -- a land shattered into thirty warring kingdoms, where a woman can seize power, if she is bold enough. Daughter of a Norse king, fifteen-year-old sa prefers swordplay to needlework and dreams of becoming a shield-maiden. When she spurns a powerful warlord, he attacks, killing her father and brother and taking her captive. To save her surviving people, sa must wed the murderer. To wreak vengeance, she must bide her...