King Olav is a fanatical Christian ruler who presses to purge Norway of the old ways, convinced that his faith will secure the land. He hears the voice of Jesus, or the White Christ, in prayer, a divine sign that fuels jealousy and unease in his trusted adviser, Bishop Thangbrandur Tomas Norström. The last significant resistance comes from the pagan jarl Godbrandur [Þorsteinn Hannesson]. Godbrandur’s daughter Embla Maria Bonnevie is wed to Askur [Gottskálk Dagur Sigurðarson], the foster son of Iceland’s powerful lawspeaker Thorgeir [Helgi Skúlason], and the two lovers become caught in a brutal clash of faiths and loyalties. When Olav’s troops ambush a pagan ceremony, Kolbeinn Johannes Brost crushes Godbrandur’s wooden statue of Odin, a defiant act that backfires as Embla rises to strike back and kill Kolbeinn with a single swift blow. The ensuing chaos leaves Embla and Askur captured, while Godbrandur’s stubborn resolve hardens into a baptismal bargain: he agrees to be baptized to save Embla and Askur, a choice that momentarily blurs the line between conquest and conversion. Olav’s decree to christen Iceland’s pagans weighs heavily on the island, and Embla is held hostage in a convent, a reminder that the struggle touches every heart it reaches.
Across the sea in Iceland, Thangbrandur’s supposed tricks and conversions falter among a wary people who treat him as a local joke; Askur’s presence, however, stirs mixed reactions. Askur’s half-brother Gunnar Gunnar Jónsson grows uneasy about this outsider who could threaten his own standing, and tensions spike as Gunnar’s mother Hallbera Bríet Héðinsdottir aids his schemes. A brutal murder—Völondur Sveinn M. Eiðsson is slain and Völondur’s brother Hrappur Þráinn Karlsson seeks to pin the crime on Askur. The web thickens when Thorgeir Helgi Skúlason surveys the aftermath and, rather than seeing a martyr’s blood spilled, resolves to exile the would-be missionary back to Norway—an act that paradoxically preserves life while delaying faith’s triumph. Askur, compelled to protect Embla, returns to Norway with Thangbrandur in tow, bearing the evidence of hostages taken by Olav to pressure Iceland into Christianization.
Back in Norway, Embla’s peril intensifies as she navigates a convent that becomes both prison and battleground. She uses her wits to persuade Olav to allow Askur to return to Iceland, a move that hinges on a dangerous necklace bearing Freyja’s image—a talisman Embla insists protects them. Olav, ever calculating, stages a double gambit: he seizes the sons of Icelandic chiefs as leverage, all while Thorgeir contends with the possibility of peace by recalibrating how faith will operate in Iceland. Askur returns to Iceland, and a staged duel with Thorgeir on the shore turns into a calculated ritual: Thorgeir leads the fight into a pagan temple, where Askur appears slain in sacrificial blood, convincing onlookers of his death and enabling Embla to slip away with the necklace. Yet the plot’s real purpose is to secure a peaceful conversion: Thorgeir proclaims that Iceland will become Christian, but pagans may worship in secret, a compromise that both Christians and pagans grudgingly accept.
The plot thickens as Thangbrandur and Gunnar realize Thorgeir’s cunning ploy and move to kill Askur to recover the jewelry. In the thick of a violent clash, Thangbrandur is mortally wounded and seeks forgiveness, a moment that reveals a rift between the two men: Askur’s forgiveness is reserved for White Christ, while Thangbrandur’s last act is a reversal of expectations as he prays to Odin to gain passage into Valhalla. The twist/challenge of faith during this moment deepens the film’s meditation on belief, loyalty, and the price of conviction.
Meanwhile, back in Norway, Godbrandur completes a stavechurch as a bold statement of the new religious order, while Embla reunites with her father and contemplates escape to Iceland to preserve the old ways. Yet Olav’s ships appear in Godbrandur’s fjord, and Embla’s fate seems sealed. With the necklace in hand as proof of Askur’s supposed death, Embla seeks refuge through fire and sacrifice, hoping to break free from Olav’s grasp. Godbrandur is killed by falling debris in the church’s burning ruins, but Olav manages to rescue Embla and carry her away from the conflagration. Embla makes a last, desperate bid to kill Olav, only to be overpowered by him. As the dust settles, Embla retreats into the church’s smoking ruins and calls out for what appears to be Odin in the night, a moment that hints at the enduring pull of the old beliefs. Just then, a ship bearing Askur’s silhouette appears in the fjord, a powerful image of renewal and the possibility that the old ways will rise again.
As the final image lingers, the film leaves viewers contemplating how faith and power clash, how love anchors people amid shifting loyalties, and how a solitary vow can ripple across nations. The bond between Embla and Askur, the strategic moves by Thorgeir, and the fraught decisions of Olav and Thangbrandur create a tapestry in which neither side fully triumphs nor fully yields. In this sweeping saga, faith is never simply a creed but a living, contested force that reshapes identities, landscapes, and destinies, leaving the door open for what comes next as the ships appear on the horizon and the saga of Iceland’s Christian era begins to unfold.
