A group of experts are reviving the dramatic and epochal Viking Age and sailing across the North Atlantic. They will attempt to reach the place where the Vikings landed in America 500 years before Columbus. On land, Rane Willerslev, Director of the National Museum of Denmark, will follow the traces left behind by the Vikings, which tell of their power and courage. The story apparently begins when King Godfred builds the first large fleet of Viking ships. As Rane puts it: "If you want to understand the Viking Age, you have to understand their ships".

The crew of the Rosalina sets sail for the British Isles. The question is, can they find the Shetland Islands when they have to navigate as the Vikings did? When the Vikings left Scandinavia and started sailing west, they were sailing into the unknown. Along the way, Nikolaj challenges modern taste buds with salted cod from Lofoten. On land, Rane looks at the Vikings' achievements and their mentality. What gave them the courage to sail out into the blue?

The voyage to America continues, this time from the Shetland Islands to the Faroe Islands. But during the voyage, the North Atlantic shows its teeth, which has serious consequences for the voyage. In England, Rane has gone in search of the real story of the Viking conquest of the country. Was it really Ivar the Boneless who led a huge army to England and established a Danish colony? And was it a merciless massacre of the Danes that led Sweyn Forkbeard to invade the whole of England?