On the brutal Mongol steppes, a khan's son is born under a dark omen—that he will walk with death all his life. Betrayal, exile, and starvation will test whether that omen is a curse or a calling. This is the origin of the man who would become Genghis Khan, forged not in conquest, but in the cold...

On the frozen steppes, the Wolf khan Yesugei cuts down a Tartar raiding party and rides home to a second son born clutching blood in his fist—a sign the boy will walk with death forever. Twelve years on, young Temujin scales a deadly red hill for an eagle's nest, only to learn that being a khan's...