For over a century, the Vikings were the most feared fighting force the world had ever seen—none greater than Holger the Dane. Having won all the wars of his time, the undefeated Viking warrior is said never to have died. Instead, legends say he sleeps, his body turned into a mighty stone statue residing deep within the casemates of Castle Kronborg. Clad in armor, with sword and shield at the ready, Holger remains in an enchanted sleep--ever with one eye open--and only to awake should danger ever rise again to threaten his beloved Denmark. And on that day, stone will again turn to flesh—and the roar of the Viking will be heard and felt in all the lands of the world once more.

Modern-day everyman Markus Trygg lives and quite enjoys a relatively routine and mundane existence. But that won’t matter one bit when he’s forced to take part in an investigation looking into a trail of inexplicable mass deaths happening throughout Denmark. Enter Holger the Dane, a savage barbarian with whom Markus shares nothing in common—except that only Markus can understand him. Together, the unlikely pair will battle an undead scourge, hell-bent on some dark murderous purpose—and one that seems to center around a lone—and extraordinary—survivor. Eventually, the quest to save his world will take them to Avalon, the land of magic, where Markus will come face-to-face with beasts and monsters of myth and legend. In order to survive, the ever-reluctant Markus will have no choice but to accept some hard truths not only about the world he lives in—but himself as well.