It is the 12th century AD. Neil lives with his parents on a farm on the remote island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. He is bored with his days and longs for excitement. He makes friends with Brother Durston, a Christian hermit living in a rocky cell nearby. The hermit speaks to the boy about the virtues of foregiveness and peaceful coexistence, and teaches the value of contemplation and prayer.

But the visit of a Viking sea captain, Baldur, to the island makes the boy restless. He goes with Baldur to Iceland to deliver a walrus ivory chess set carved by Brother Durston to Baldur's father -- the Wolfhound. But Baldur's father has died, and his grave has been robbed of the hero's famous weapons. Baldur's anger is intense, and he and Neil go on a dangerous and exciting journey across Iceland to recover the stolen weapons -- the Weapons of the Wolfhound.