Ten year old Nicholaas leaves his cherished home in Eden Prairie,Minnesota to live in Leiden, Holland. He leaves behind the game of football his friends to go on an a twelve day adventure on a Holland America Cruise ship. On their first stop in Half Moon Bay Nicholas journeys out to scubas out to see ruins of the lost ship through the clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. In his next stop In Madeira Nicholaas and his family are stuck in a harrowing storm that nearly ended in crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. After the leave the balloon they find shelter in an old deserted house where Nicholaas and his cousin Chris find themselves of an exact replica of Minnesota Vikings Football field. Nicholaas can't believe his eyes . Chris says lets play some football. They wonder how just the two of them can play ball. Chris throws it and Nicholaas runs with it and suddenly Walter Payton known as sweetness appears. Later While in Belgium Nicholaas and his family visit Graveensteen Castle, It's here that Nicholaas experiences what life was like in the medieval time period. As Nicholaas read the sign about St.Philip of Alsace. He found himself in a middle of a skirmish between the royalty and the peasants . The peasants were tired of having their money, food and housing stolen from them. An arrow whizzed by Nicholaas nearly piercing him.