England 1000

Wulfnoth , the father of Earl Godwin and grandfather of King Harold, is historically a shadowy figure: his name appears on four extant royal diplomas; he is mentioned only once in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles; and he is referred to in passing in a bequest in Prince Athelstan's will which reads I grant to Godwin, Wulfnoth's son, the estate at Compton which his father possessed.

Wulfnoth traces the life of the obscure Sussex thegn torn between his stewardship of the Compton Estate and his duty to serve the unpredictable King Aethelred, a role which draws him into a bitter conflict with the avaricious Mercian Beorhtric.

However, it is just as much the story of the thegn's huscarl, Cerdic, the fisherman's son; of his friend Torgrim, the falsely-accused mintmaster; and of Alena the prostitute whose ingenuity saves Hild, Torgrim's daughter, from degradation in the stews of Bruges and ultimately brings Wulfnoth a chance to clear his name from charges of treason.