The novel takes place in 850 AD and follows the story of a seafaring Norse community who set out from their village of Elasund to discover the mythical island of Catan.

In 2000, he read a book by award-winning German historical novelist, Rebecca Gable, called The Smile of Fortune which takes place during the Hundred Years War in England.

The year is 850 A.D.. Candamir and Osmund are two close friends who live in the coastal Norse fishing village of Elasund with their respective families.

The village is attacked by Turons - people of a neighboring region - who burn as many men and boys as they can, while taking many of the women as slaves.

The people of Elasund grow anxious as their poor harvests and meager fishing catches are barely enough to last them through the harsh winter.

Olaf, an experienced merchant and the wealthiest man in Elasund, shares information of an unnamed island that he accidentally discovered years ago.

However, it is not until the village witch Brigitta gives an oracle that most of the Elasunders are convinced to leave their homeland and embark on the risk of a voyage.

They strike a deal with the local king to give him wool in exchange for dried meats, fresh water, and mead.

However, at the feast that night, the king secretly poisons the guests’ mead with the intention of raiding their ships early the next morning.

The king's beautiful wife Siglind, who has suffered abuse at her husband's hands, sneaks aboard Candamir's ship and warns him of the plot.

As they sail past the coast of Wales, Austin considers jumping overboard to escape servitude and return to his family.

With the water supply quickly dwindling, many of the voyagers and livestock on board become ill. Brigitta sends out her three black ravens, one each to the southwest, northwest, and northeast, with the hopes that one will not return and thus indicate the direction of land.

The Elasunders encounter a large flock of white ravens, which they ecstatically interpret as a good omen from the god Odin.

Shortly after landing, Candamir's slave-girl Gunda bears him his first-born child, Nils, whom he names after his sister Asta's deceased husband.

One day, upon returning from gathering honey, Candamir, Osmund, Siglind, and Jared stumble upon a shocking scene in the woods: Olaf is raping his male slave the Turon.

As a free man, Austin now has his own small hut in which he spends his time writing an account of the Catanian settlers and growing herbs for healing.

Under her rule, the people of Catan experience a resurgence in old rituals such as drunken festivities in the temple centered on animal sacrifice.

Upon returning to the village, Candamir and Hacon discover that there has been growing tension between the Christians and those of the Norse religion, a roughly even split in the community.

Just before Inga is able to murder Austin, a ball of fire crashes through the roof of the temple, lands in the sacred spring, and continues to burn.

They depart in two days time, and after picking up Austin at the meeting point, sail around the island to the south coast of Catan.

This legend was created for the novel by Rebecca Gable, but she attempted to follow the storytelling structure of actual Norse mythology.

Odin asked the giants for their help in constructing a perfect land - an island in the sea with no winter or drought, no sorrow or pain, with mountains rich in minerals, valleys full of fertile soil, and groves of trees, beautiful flowers, and sweet fruit.

While the island of Catan and the people of Elasund are entirely fictional, many of the Norse rites and customs described in the novel are historical fact.

These include using ravens to search for land, collective urination after the Thing, painting the temple walls with sacrificial blood, and throwing posts of the high seat overboard to see where they drift.

In addition, the description of ships, houses, weapons, clothing, and articles of daily life are accurate to the time period.

The most obvious reference is that of the Robber, which in the novel is represented by Olaf and his band of thieves who routinely raid the settlers’ village.

The novel also gives a shoutout to the board game's volcano variant, with the fiery mountain playing a significant role in the storyline.

[5] Preston Derosiers of CatanMaps.com called the book a satisfying read, saying it "manages to weave in imagery from the game in a way that is restrained enough to retain its independence as a rich and entertaining piece of historical fiction, while still undoubtedly earning its title.

"[6] Lee Chadeayne of the Historical Novel Society said, "Gable’s main strength is her ability to write in a way that creates conflict in the novel and at the same time brings out the goodness and unity among all the characters, thus making the story more realistic and in sync with a time period where people were rigid about laws for kindness and goodness laid down by their gods.

There is a tremendous opportunity to take what people love about the game and its mythology as a starting point for the narrative.”[8] It is not currently known if a future movie or television adaptation would use Rebecca Gable's novel as source material.