After Breed, a thief-assassin of small renown, is chased by a dragon, tricked by a demon, almost killed by a psychopathic gang boss and hunted by a ferocious spider, life really takes a turn for the worse. Sentenced to five years bonded servitude to a one-handed priest magician, Breed must find the hammer of the ancient hero known only as The Hammer of the North within a year and a day…or else. So, with only a drug-addicted vagrant, a rat-faced child and a timid priest for backup, Breed sets out for the mighty city of Valen and the tomb of the Hammer. What could possibly go wrong?