The Wicker Man have been more fantastical in subject matter than the original film, and relied more heavily on special effects. In this continuation of the story, which begins immediately after the ending of the first film, Sergeant Neil Howie is rescued from the burning Wicker Man by a group of police officers from the mainland. Howie sets out to bring Lord Summerisle and his pagan followers to justice, but becomes embroiled in a series of challenges which pit the old gods against his own Christian faith. The script culminates in a climactic battle between Howie and a fire-breathing dragon – the titular
Sodor (fictional island) of Man is known as Bishop of "Sodor and Man". This is because the Isle of Man was part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, which included the Hebrides, known in Old Norse as the "Suðreyjar", (anglicised as "The Sudreys") i.e. "Southern Isles" compared to "Norðreyjar" ("The Nordreys"), or the "Northern Isles", i.e. Orkney and Shetland. The Sudreys became "Sodor", which was fossilised in the name of the Diocese, long after it ceased to have any authority over the Scottish Islands. Thus there is no "Island" of Sodor; rather, the fictional island takes its name from an archipelago.