In which the captive Schumacker and his daughter Ethel dwell in the shadow of legends and looming dangers, their quiet moments interrupted by the ironies and tensions of courtly intrigue and whispered tales of the dread outlaw Hans of Iceland. Against a backdrop of looming marriages and secret hatred, love and duty entwine as Ordener prepares to confront a perilous foe, carrying with him a fragment of the beloved Ethel’s heart and prayers to gird him.