It's the annual midwinter gathering, and Sissa Raudulfsdatter is locked into a shed – bound, gagged and waiting to be led out to the altar where she will be sacrificed.

There has never been any human sacrifice in the village before, but this year Jarl Ingolf decided that the gods require one to give their good graces back.

Sissa is determined to face her fate with dignity and courage but as she waits for them to bring her out to the altar, the herbs her mother has put in her final meal makes her dizzy and finally, she faints.

The morning after the sacrifice she wakes up, still alive and still in the shed. After shouting for help, Sissa's brother opens the door, but he's shocked to see her because they all thought Sissa was killed the evening before. It's soon discovered that another girl was sacrificed instead. The village is in uproar and Jarl Ingolf, who performed the sacrifice himself, is devastated.

The Jarl’s brother, Einarr, is given the task to find out what has happened and because of her ability to figure things out, and since she's the only one clearly innocent, he asks Sissa to help him. One of the suspects is Einarr’s only son Josteinn, the boy Sissa has had her eyes on her whole life, but there are others who could be guilty, and as Sissa and Einarr learn more, things start to become dangerous.

When Josteinn starts to pay her attention, Sissa has to decide how she wants to live her life. Can she be content living her life in the village as Josteinn's thrall, his property? Or have the gods carved different runes of fate into the roots of Yggdrasil for her?