After the death of his father, Svyatoslav I, ruler of Kievan, the young Viking prince Vladimir of Novgorod is forced into exile across the frozen sea to escape his treacherous half-brother Yaropolk, who has murdered his older brother Oleg and conquered the Viking territory of Kievan. The old warrior Sveneld convinces Vladimir to assemble a Varangian armada, hoping to reconquer Norvgorod from Yaropolk.