The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Bengtsson, Frans. G. New York Review Books, 2010.

In Part One, Orm gets kidnapped by the Viking chieftain Krok. He quickly adapts and makes friends in Krok’s service. He gets along with Toke and Rapp best. One day, the whole crew gets abducted by slavers. Orm learns to speak Arabic and becomes the leader of the slaves. One of his shipmates, Solomon, turns out to be a wealthy man. He helps free Orm and his friends and enlists them in Almansur’s service in Córboda. They serve Almansur for four years before fleeing to Denmark with a bell of his. The bell belonged to a Christian church they raided. They give the bell as a gift to King Harald, who appreciates it greatly. Orm falls in love with King Harald’s daughter Ylva. He gives her a gold necklace. Orm returns home to make is wealth. He finds his mother, Asa, nearly destitute.

In Part Two, King Harald dies in battle against his son King Sven. Orm joins a chieftain named Thorkel’s service and sails with him to England to plunder. They burn down a village, but the villagers flee to the church tower. Once King Ethelred bribes them to leave England, they release the prisoners in the church. Among them is Father Willibald, King Harald’s priest. Orm bonds with him. Father Willibald brings him to meet Ylva. Ylva and Orm get married. Father Willibald returns home with them. Before they reach home, they stop at King Harald’s palace to retrieve the gold necklace. King Sven nearly catches them, but they manage to escape. Orm converts to Christianity.

In Part Three, Orm moves with his friends, wife, and mother to his mother’s estate: Gröning. Ylva gives birth to twin girls named Ludmilla and Oddny. A year later, she gives birth to a boy called Harald. One day, some peddlers arrive to sell their wares. In the middle of the night, a little boy named Ulf warns them that the leader of the peddlers, Östen, is an assassin sent by King Sven to kill Orm. Orm’s men defeat the peddlers, but Östen survives. Orm has Östen baptized before releasing him. Orm adopts Ulf, who gets along great with the whole family. At Harald’s christening feast, beggars come by. Among them are Felimid and Ferdiad: jesters from King Harald’s court. Ylva is overjoyed to see them. A man called Magister Rainald is with them also. He is a notorious womanizer. Magister Rainald has sex with Ylva as well as Torgunn, Rapp’s wife. Orm never learns of his wife’s infidelity. Instead, he brings Magister Rainald with him to the Thing: the annual conference of the border peoples. One night, Östen attacks Orm. A man called Olof kills Östen, saving Orm’s life. They become lifelong friends. Magister Rainald joins the Vird tribe.

In Part Four, Olof and Orm buy salt from a merchant ship. There, Orm discovers his long-lost brother Are, who is mute, blind, and has only one hand. They bring Are home with them. With the help of Father Willibald, they manage to record Are’s story. Before dying, Are tells them about the Bulgar gold he hid in the river Dvina. Orm decides to journey there to retrieve the treasure. Along with Toke and Olof’s men, they manage to locate the treasure. They have to battle with a tribe called the Patzinaks for it, but win. Unfortunately, Blackhair and Ulf get kidnapped by the Patzinaks. Luckily, the Patzinak chieftain is Felimid, the jester from King Harald’s court. He returns Orm’s sons to him for a steep price. The two exchange vows of friendship before Orm and his men sail home. When they arrive at Gröning, they learn that Ludmilla has been kidnapped by Magister Rainald. Rapp died while defending Gröning. Orm’s men storm Priestby, the village where Rainald hides her. Olof kills Rainald. After that, Orm never sails again. Ludmilla marries Olof. Oddny marries Ulf. Orm lives to an old age, alongside his wife and Toke.