On his wedding day, a Saxon's family is slaughtered by Vikings. To get revenge, he infiltrates their camp — but the price of vengeance is more than he bargained for.

SYNOPSIS:

9th century, England.

Edgar marries Elva — the daughter of his enemy — to end a bloody feud between their families. On their wedding day, the Vikings launch a surprise attack on the settlement. Edgar witnesses Olav kill his grandfather before being struck down himself and losing consciousness.

When he awakens among the ashes, Edgar finds all his kin dead — including his mutilated bride. Burning for revenge, he casts lots: pursue vengeance or join a monastery. Fate points to the monastery.

On his way, Edgar encounters the exiled monk Wilfrid, who dreams of converting the Vikings to end their raids. Together, they save Ulf, the son of the fallen Viking Gunnar, from bandits. Grateful, the boy leads them to the camp of his uncle Olav.

Edgar conceals that he recognizes his grandfather’s killer. Olav rewards him with a sword for rescuing his nephew, but refuses to accept him into his warband. When a drunken Ulf accuses his uncle of killing his father, a duel erupts. Edgar steps in to fight in the boy’s place, but the clash is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a massive bear — believed to be Gunnar’s spirit demanding vengeance.

Olav proposes a trial: whoever slays the spirit at Gunnar’s burial mound will prove himself. If Wilfrid wins, the Vikings will accept baptism. If Edgar wins, he will join their warband. A coward may escape by boat.

That night, at the grave, the three are attacked by the bear. Edgar kills it, but then discovers Elva — alive, taken captive, and thirsting for revenge. At first, she wants to kill Edgar, believing him a traitor, but upon learning the truth, she urges him to flee with her.

Edgar cannot leave without avenging his family. He places Elva in the boat and pushes her away from shore. Disguised in the armor of the dead Gunnar, he returns to the Vikings as a phantom avenger.

In the final duel, Olav mortally wounds Ulf, who tries to protect his “father.” Edgar slays Olav, but the price of vengeance is the death of the boy he had grown to love. After burying Ulf beside Gunnar, a devastated Edgar remains with Wilfrid, who believes that enlightening the pagans is more important than revenge.

Themes: the price of vengeance, the clash of faith and tradition, the cycle of violence, the choice between revenge and forgiveness.