First published 2023
In the raw, windswept landscape of 11th-century Northumbria, a young monk named John arrives at the remote monastery of Lindisfarne. Charged with preserving the legacy of Saint Cudbert, he confronts a brutal world where survival means more than spiritual devotion. Viking raids, political intrigue, and the harsh North Sea landscape threaten to erase the saint's memory—and John's own fragile existence. As John begins the perilous task of transporting Cudbert's sacred remains, he becomes entangled in a dangerous mission that demands physical endurance and spiritual conviction. Each step becomes a battle against nature, memory, and the violent forces that seek to destroy sacred history. His journey is both a pilgrimage and a fight for survival, where the boundaries between reverence and raw human determination blur into something primal and urgent. A story of resistance, faith, and the power of remembrance in a world carved by violence and hope.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical, historical-fiction, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: pilgrimage, resistance, survival
Setting: Lindisfarne, Northumbria
Period: 11th-century
464 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Content warnings: violence