Love and loyalty are powerful ties, but even the strongest fetters can be broken. Odin has established absolute dominion over the Nine Worlds, but he knows that one day a Jötun named Loki will destroy everything he has created. To avert a bloody war, he adopts the peculiar child and forges a bond of kinship with him. However, when a powerful seeress foretells the death of Baldr and the coming of Ragnarök, Odin and Frigg begin to redirect the course of their foster son's life. As the future's shadow grows longer, their measures grow more desperate. Embittered by Odin's manipulations, Loki becomes ever more sly and secretive; when he discovers that his own brothers have betrayed him at Odin's command, he spirals into madness. Soon, Loki and Odin are circling one another, and the fate of the worlds depends on two men who will sacrifice everything to get what they want.