In Helvik, a single rule governs the people: ‘No person of Helvik may kill another person of Helvik. Any person who breaks this rule is no longer a person of Helvik.’ Gunnarr remembers a time before the rule, when blood feuds and petty rivalries led to endless death. In the days since, an uneasy peace has fallen over the town, and Gunnarr has made himself the man to enforce it. When an innocent friend suffers from a breach of the rule, Gunnarr rushes to deal retribution. Too late, he discovers that what appeared a mindless act was actually something far more sinister. And now he has left his unborn child and family unprotected, just when they need him most. A vast host of warriors is at the gates of Helvik, and with Gunnarr gone, nothing and no one stands against them…