"Asa is the daughter of a Viking chief whose clan is struggling to survive a never-ending winter. All the able-bodied men head to sea in search of food, leaving behind the children, the elderly, the sick -- and Jorgen the skald, the wise man who will stop at nothing to take over the clan. When Asa learns the skald wants to kill and eat her beloved horse, she runs away -- but soon realizes she has to return and try to save her mother and clan. And...

An Irish boy and a Chinese boy become friends, despite their mistrust and prejudices, while working on the Transcontinental Railroad in 1866.