The Mercies

Norway. Historical fiction (17th century). Winter 1617. The sea around the remote island of Vardø is thrown into a vicious storm. A young woman watches as the men of the island, out fishing, perish in an instant. Vardø is now a place of women and they must learn to survive by themselves. 18 months later a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet, has been summoned to bring the women to heel. He brings with him his young wife who, encounters something she has never experienced before – independent women. But where she finds happiness and love, her husband sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil which he must root out at all costs.