The young Pictish warrior Kral, aided by his loyal cadre of friends, sails to the sinister and dangerous realm of Stygia, on the trail of the stolen holy relic that could save his people—the Teeth of the Ice Bear. Yet even after enduring perils beyond their darkest dreams, they find that part of their prize is missing—stolen by the duplicitous warrior-thief, Conor.

Journeying into the heart of the Cimmerian wilderness in the dead of winter, Kral and his companions search for their traitorous former comrade even as the enraged Picts wage a desperate, doomed war against the great King Conan himself.

Beset by enemies on all fronts, Kral must fight for possession of the Teeth of the Ice Bear if he is to save his people from utter annihilation, and claim a destiny he never could have dreamed of…

Nothing worth doing . . .

 Gorian and his men were after the Teeth of the Ice Bear. And, since they had the assistance of some sorcerer—who presumably told the Stygian responsible for its theft about the crown in the first place—they would have some idea where to find it.
 Not much to go on, Kral thought. But better than nothing, which was what they had had only moments before.
 “So we stay with them?” Mikelo asked, just as Donial was about to.
 “Yes,” Kral replied, “and when they find the crown, we take it instead.”
 “There are more of them, and better armed,” Donial said. “And they have magic on their side.”
 Kral chuckled, without humor. “Did I say it would be easy?”