The Plague of God in Bloomington, MN

A contemporary adventure, a 9th century epic of intrigue, murder and greed, the plots connected by the power gold holds:
Forced to sell the family property, a baron in present-day Germany succumbs to the whispered promise of a fabled treasure and sets out on a dangerous quest ...
Centuries earlier, the same lure of treasure leads a Viking shieldmaiden to the dark forests of Eastern Francia where she realizes the terrible mistake she's made in following a merciless warlord ...