On his 21st birthday, Axl Johnsons three brothers take him to a mysterious ceremony in a forest. There he is struck by lightning, then told the brothers are all reincarnated Norse gods; Mikkel is Ullr, god of the hunt and games, Anders is Bragi (poetry and eloquence) and Ty is Höðr (darkness and cold). Their impossibly youthful grandfather Olaf (Baldr, oracle and god of longevity) proclaims Axl to be Odin, most powerful of the gods. Odin is prophesied to restore their full powers, lost centuries before when he broke up with his beloved wife, Frigg, thus sundering Asgard and dooming the gods to walk diminished amongst mortals. Axl also learns that his mother did not die in a traffic accident as he was told as a child: brokenhearted when his father walked out, she had entered the forest and set her spirit in a tree. Several mortals are introduced: Valerie is Mikkels wife, taking hormones to conceive a baby, Dawn is Anders overworked secretary, and Zeb and Gaia are Axls housemates. The prophesied signs of Odins return are being watched by a mysterious group of women, who make several attempts to kill Axl. The last attempt only confirms Axl as Odin and he learns his quest is to find and reunite with Frigg. However, if he dies before completing the quest, a natural disaster will kill his close relations, and probably everyone else in the area.