The author harks back to the twelfth century with a sensuous and tempestuous tale that brings vividly to life England's most passionate and destructive royal couple: Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II. Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor has spent the past dozen frustrating years as consort to the pious King Louis VII of France. For all its political advantages, the marriage has brought Eleanor only increasing unhappiness and daughters instead of the hoped for male heir.