811 AD, a family, isolated in their home, deep in the woods a few days travel from Birka       They are poor       The hunting and fishing has been bad for some time, and the father, Joar, takes the desperate measure of going on a Viking raid       Joar does not return for a long time, and the family starts to fear he never will       Runa, the oldest daughter, takes over her fathers chores in his absence       She misses him dearly and nourishes a tender hope that he, once again, will return to them       But in her heart, somehow she knows, that the suffering of the family has just begun       There is something in the air, something in the water, the wind and in the soil       Runa is becoming aware of something vile, something dangerous out in the forest       One day when she is out hunting, she finds a bleeding man, a warrior, almost unconscious       She brings him inside and the family tend to his wounds       As he heals, she realizes he is sent to protect the family from an approaching evil       And he brings news of her father