Set in the twelfth-century Baltic trading world, this historical novel follows Helga, a girl who flees an unwanted marriage and aspires to become a merchant. A judicial duel over a shipwreck draws her into the lives of people moving between Gotland, Lübeck, and Novgorod, while the novel traces girls seeking their own paths amid oppression.

Across rough seas and trading cities, the girls strive to shape their own futures.