For ages 9-14. Fifteen-year-old Rigg, son of explorer Leif Ericsson, dreams of mystery and adventure. In the early eleventh century, the boy finds both of these in abundance when his father sails away and leaves him behind in Vinland, the Vikings' precarious foothold on the wild Newfoundland coast. Soon, Rigg makes an amazing discovery. The Vikings aren't alone in this alien land. But who inhabits it with them? Demons, giants, ghouls, or another human tribe, one that equals the Norse invaders in skill and bravery? Rigg's quest through the wilderness with the rune master Tyrkir reveals some of the secrets of the new world. But it also brings the boy into conflict with Ivar, the feared berserker, a half-mad warrior who rules in Leif's absence. Can Rigg live up to his father's faith in him? Can he prevent the catastrophe brewing in the small Viking settlement? The answers to these questions lie not just in the brooding forest that surrounds Rigg, but deep in his own soul in a land where survival depends on facing danger with a clear head and a firm heart.