In a flash, the world Ted Callan knew exploded. The fire on the patch had burned everything to the ground, including his marriage and now he's on the road looking for a fresh start. What he finds is a mysterious young woman named Tilda in the middle of the highway who tells him he's destined to either become a hero or die a quick and painful death.

Later that evening, when three stout men break into his hotel room, bind him to the bed and proceed to carve his skin with a stylus Ted wishes that death would come quickly. When he wakes, his body is covered in an elaborate norse tattoo, complete with Hugin and Munin, Mjolnir and Yggdrasil, not to mention the power of the Gods. As Ted seeks out the three men who assaulted him, he learns that the creatures of Norse mythology walk in the world of humankind and some of them want to see it burn.

Accompanied by the trickster Loki and the bequiling Tilda, Ted wants nothing more than to have his old life back. No more tattoos. No more smart-ass Gods. No more mystic powers. The problem is, if he succeeds, it might just be the end of the world.