The last of Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels for children. A boy is banished from a Viking settlement on England north-east coast for killing a man and causing the chief to become an oath-breaker. The boy takes to the sea as a mercenary swordsman,

 

There are 288 pages in this book. This book was published 1997 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Rosemary Sutcliff has written many historical novels for children. The Lantern Bearers won the Carnegie Medal. Rosemary Sutcliff received an OBE in 1975 and in 1993, the year after her death, was awarded the CBE.