Synopsis: Northman versus Samurai in Post-Apocalypse Japan. Among the Neo-Vikings of the post-apocalyptic Earth, Nils Jarnhann is known as the Yngling, the mystic warrior who belongs to none of their tribes and so can serve as the lawgiver and peacemaker for them all. With his inner vision, even the loss of his eyesight did not impair his mastery of the sword. Now the Yngling, aided by his Star Men friends, has undertaken a pilgrimage to Japan to confer with a renowned holy man - voyage that has met with disaster. Caught in a tornado, the Star Men's flying boat was damaged and the crew scattered, some of them made captive by marauding bands. The Yngling himself has so impressed Lord Matsumura, an official of no small importance, with his swordsmanship and purity of spirit, that Matsumura is resolved to make the Yngling a Samurai in his service. Even the Yngling's mental powers will be challenged as he searches in a strange land for his companions and seeks a way to return to his homeland. (from the back cover of the Baen Books first edition)