Borvo is a pagan healer who embarks on a spiritual journey at the time of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, a zealous reforming Christian king. Borvo gets caught up in the king's efforts to bring peace to his country against the ever invading Danes. The 9th century was a time of enormous progress when kingdoms were settling down into the recognisable shapes that we see today. Borvo has difficult choices to make to keep both his spiritual and physical being safe from harm.