Brus and Jan are thirteen-year-old Norwegian twins, the youngest of four in their family. The eldest sons left to seek their fortunes and never returned. Due to overcrowding limiting the family's opportunity to prosper, their father, Harald, decides that the family should resettle in a part of England where his wife's Danish relatives have found a welcoming spot. They pack the family, goods, and some livestock into three ships, with the men (and the twins) in the first and strongest to defend the others should need arise.
During the voyage, a storm separates the twins' ship from the other two, and eventually sinks it. Most of the men wash up on the shore of Scotland. Because the land is unfamiliar and the mood of the natives unknown, Brus is advised to stay apart from everyone else, in case his likeness to his brother can be used to advantage. The wisdom of this soon becomes clear; the men are found by local Thane Bègan Mòr and "invited" to a feast celebrating his daughter's engagement to Gavin Dhu, Laird of Lorne (the titular Black Fox) that evening at the castle. Jan is taken to ensure their attendance.
The men have no choice but to attend, and as drink flows freely, the evening's mood turns sour. Bègan Mòr has all of the men, Harald included, slaughtered, their bodies thrown from the castle walls. Jan is held in a cell until the time of Gavin Dhu's departure and will be enslaved to him. Brus manages to locate his father, barely alive, and drags him to a cave for safety. But when he leaves to go find fresh water, he returns to find his father dead, and his heirloom jeweled brooch missing from his cloak. Brus is certain that Harald has been murdered, but is absolutely helpless. He has no choice but to follow "Black" Gavin's men, and his brother, and hope that he will somehow find a way to avenge his father's murder.
During the long travel, Brus is able to signal his presence to his brother, and they swap places several times during the journey, initially to ensure that both are equally well-fed. They vow to continue to keep their twin-ness a secret and hope that it will help them to someday avenge their father. Over time, they become invaluable in Black Gavin's castle, although only one can make an appearance at a time. And they discover that Black Gavin is their father's murderer as he frequently wears the dead man's brooch. Brus wants to kill him at the first opportunity, but Jan (whose name morphs into the Scottish Ian) has had numerous encounters with Christians and prefers to bide his time, not only because he knows that Gavin has many enemies and would prefer not to act in haste, but because he has also been cautioned that vengeance belongs to God alone. Brus, on the other hand, thinks his brother is going somewhat soft and is indignant that he has lost his allegiance to Thor, Freya, and the other gods his family venerated.
Suffice it to say that all more or less turns out as it should by the end of the story, and the twins make their peace with their new homeland and this curious new religion professed by so many.
I really enjoyed this book more than I expected. I'm really not a fan of adventure-y sorts of stories, but this one really held me (apart from the author's occasional tendency to narrate rather than show the reader what she wants him/her to know). I was also impressed that she did all of her own (very good) illustrations. I'm going to have to look into her other titles.
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