Based on the Norse epic which bears his name, this Saga deals with the early life of the Gothic prince Beowulf, Earl of Slane, and his friend and kinsman, Athelstan of Karron Tha, called Hawkeye.
According to his half-sister, the mystic Ljani the Red, Beowulf is a reincarnation of the mightiest of all Gothic kings, Bjorn Longspear, the non-pareil Prince of the Lake. But this seems unlikely, for Beowulf is a lazy youth with no interest in affairs of state. His uncle, the warlike King Hyglack, considers him little better than a coward.
Like Beowulf, Hawkeye has the well-nigh impossible task of reconciling family and personal loyalties with those of his country. For Beowulf is a prince of Gothmark, Hawkeye a lord of their traditional enemies, the Sfear, or Swedes.
Both men have women problems. Hawkeye is on the worst possible terms with Roslindis, his sluttish wife, and passionately in love with her cousin, Wanda the Fair. Beowulf meanwhile finds himself drawn to the mysterious Starlight, a witch and trickster from Port Targon, ruled by the ruthless warlord Eugen of Brabanne.
Which of these people can be relied upon, if any? And which are the servants of the fiendish Ragnar of Torre, the worst man in the world …?