January 1069. In the wilds of Northumbria, rebellion is stirring. Less than three years after their defeat at the Battle of Hastings, the English are rising again.

Marching to crush them are two thousand Normans, among them Tancred a Dinant, an ambitious and oath-sworn knight. But in the streets of Durham the Normans are ambushed and slaughtered almost to a man. Badly wounded, Tancred barely escapes with his life. His lord is among those slain.

Even as he seeks vengeance, however, Tancred finds himself caught up in a plot that harks back to the day of Hastings itself. The fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance…