When Tudor explorers returned from the brand new World, they brought back a name away of half-forgotten Viking tale: skraylings. Red-sailed boats adopted in the explorers’ wake, getting Indigenous American goods-and a skrayling ambassador-to London. But what perform these seemingly marvelous beings really want in Elizabeth I’s capital? Mal Catlyn, a down-at-heel swordsman, is seconded towards the ambassador’s bodyguard, but assassination tries are the least of his complications. What he discovers about the skraylings and their unholy power could cost Britain her brand-new ally-and Mal his soul.