In the year 872, many of the separate kingdoms of what is now England have fallen to the invading Danes, leaving the great kingdom of Wessex standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred. Against this turbulent backdrop lives Uhtred. Born to a Saxon nobleman, he is captured by the Danes and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between his birth country and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he? Saxon or Dane? On a quest to reclaim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides to play his part in the birth of a new nation and--ultimately--recapture his ancestral lands.