After returning to his homeland, Viking sailor Rolfe steals King Harald's funeral boat--and kidnaps Harald's daughter as insurance--to return to the Moorish coast. He lost his first boat there in a storm but heard tales of a solid-gold bell as tall as three tall men, forged centuries before by monks. Also interested in the bell is the local leader, Aly Mansuh, whose interest verges on obsession. After several confrontations between the two, they set off to find the bell--and, they hope, a fortune in gold.—garykmcd