Lewis Cole's friend Jon Ericson has spent years studying
the history of their small New Hampshire town, convinced
that it was once a Viking settlement. When Lewis gets a
phone message from Jon saying that he's finally found the
evidence to prove it, he hurries right over. When he
reaches Jon's house, however, Lewis discovers a crime
scene. In the brief time since Jon left that message,
someone has murdered him. Lewis's suspicions immediately
turn to Jon's estranged brother, an antiques dealer who
sometimes sold Jon's finds and thought Jon should have
spent his time looking for more profitable relics than the
likes of Viking coins. As Lewis tries to learn the truth
and recover the relic Jon claimed to have found, he
confronts a strange collection of contacts Jon made over
the course of his investigations. In the process, he must
turn to an old friend of somewhat dubious profession for
help and untangle a knotted web of frustrated dreams,
ambition, jealousy, and anger.