King Alfred 'The Great' lies dying and his beautiful, headstrong daughter Elflaede swears to take up his sword and complete her father's quest to drive the Vikings out of England. Elflaede is King Alfred's first born and favourite child, but it is her younger brother Edward who inherits Alfred's crown upon his death. Jealous of her intelligence and her father's love, Edward relishes Elflaede's unhappy marriage to the treacherous, ambitious Ethelred, Lord of Mercia. But after Ethelred's early death, Elflaede becomes a powerful queen, the 'Lady of the Mercians'. Will Edward trust her loyalty in the bloody struggles against the encroaching Viking armies? And will he discover her secret, forbidden love for their sworn enemy, Guthrum, the Viking Lord of Danelaw? Guthrum, and his younger brother Halfdan, have sworn on their own father's deathbed, to complete his conquest of England. Above them hangs an ancient prophesy that their Viking world will be destroyed by the she-wolf Fenrir. Halfdan believes Elflaede to be the incarnation of the she-wolf, and seeks her death above all else. But for Guthrum, in love with the enemy, his choices are not so clear. In an age where bloody battles laid the foundations of the English nation, this is a powerful story of love and war, jealousy and betrayal - and the bitter choices of divided loyalties.