Freya, a young woman married to Vragi—a god-blooded fisherman gifted with power over sea creatures—endures his verbal abuse and controlling behavior while gutting fish at their home on a fjord. Vragi berates her technique, insults her worth, and demands she produce a son, unaware that Freya secretly uses lemon juice and sponge to prevent pregnancy, refusing to bring a child into their miserable marriage. When Freya snaps back with a cutting remark about his bedroom skills, Vragi presses a knife to her cheek, threatening to scar her beauty. Freya stands her ground, reminding him that the village would turn against him if he disfigured his wife, and he relents—though the blade leaves a mark on her skin.

Vragi, as further punishment, uses his god-given magic to call hundreds of fish from the fjord onto the beach, far more than they could ever sell, and leaves Freya to deal with them. Refusing to let the fish die needlessly, Freya frantically begins throwing them back into the water. In the process, she accidentally strikes a stranger standing waist-deep in the fjord with a thrown fish.

The stranger is a strikingly handsome, tattooed warrior who engages Freya in witty, flirtatious banter. Despite her wariness—she initially suspects him of being a raider from Nordeland—she finds herself charmed. He kneels before her and offers to demonstrate his "skills," and though Freya is tempted, she ultimately rejects his advances, reminding herself she is a married woman. The stranger accepts her rejection gracefully, kisses her hand, and notices both her wedding ring and the fresh cut on her cheek from Vragi's knife.

He asks where her husband is, declaring he intends to kill him and make her a free woman. Freya, alarmed despite frequently daydreaming of Vragi's death, forbids it. The stranger mounts his horse and reveals he rides with Jarl Snorri, the local lord whose war band includes Freya's own brother. Freya is left stunned and anxious on the beach as the mysterious warrior gallops toward the village, leaving her uncertain of his true intentions.