Tarl Cabot's efforts to free himself from the directive of the mysterious priest-kings of Earth's orbital counterpart were confronted by frightening reality when horror frm the northland finally struck directly at him. Somewhere in the harsh land of transplanted Norsemen was the first foothold of the alien Others. Somewhere up there was one such who waited for Tarl. Somewhere up there was Tarl's confrontation with his destiny-was he to remain a rich merchant-slaver of Port Kar or become again a defender of two worlds against cosmic enslavement