The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions. A hero will be forged from this broken land. In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one. Alfred – Saxon, king, man of god – fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners. Uhtred and Alfred’s fates are tangled, soaked in blood and blackened by the flames of war. Together they will change history.