Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in? Inspired by the true discovery of the 2000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woollen blindfold over its eyes.