A tale of star-crossed young love set against the backdrop of the Viking invasion of York, from a master storyteller.
Tor is the youngest son of Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and leader of the Viking fleet, whose countless victories have been woven into song, his prowess the stuff of legend.
Kata knows little of her parents, but her heart yearns for something beyond the small world of her Anglo-Saxon village south of the great city of York.
When Tor is sent to scout ahead of the Viking fleet after their invasion of Scarborough, he relies on his charm and his guile to learn the lie of the land and the location of the regional earls' forces, ready to report back to his father. Soon, however, he meets Kata, a caring and capable young woman whose fierce nature sets Tor's heart alight.
But these are troubled times. Mistrust and rumours ripple through the land: the mighty Hardrada is coming and help is far from hand. As the eve of battle draws closer, Kata and Tor must question to whom their loyalty lies: heart or home?
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Kevin Crossley-Holland is a poet, historical novelist for children, and authority on traditional tale who has presented many BBC radio programs and is a frequent speaker at schools and libraries. He is the President of the School Library Association, an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, a patron of the Society of Storyte
