Jerusalem may have fallen to the Saracens but in the Baltic Bishop Albert of Riga has created the crusader state of Livonia to bring the word of God to the indigenous pagans. The battle to convert the natives is savage and unrelenting and into this holy war is thrust Conrad Wolff, a young native of the city of L?beck whose family has suffered a terrible injustice.Forced to leave his homeland to seek sanctuary in Livonia, Conrad's fate is soon entwined...