Life for children in Viking times was not always easy or predictable. When Arne and Lucia are fetching the cows from straying amongst the chieftain's flock of sheep, a violent storm scatters the animals and the sheep are lost. The Chieftain and his hired thugs extort compensation from the children's widowed father or he will claim the children as slaves. The family sail to the big international market in Ribe to sell everything they can in order to meet the Chieftain's demands, but not all goes according to plan.
This short illustrated book is a good insight into Viking markets, law and society of the times.