England in the early 1320s is a restless place. Edward II’s barons are disgruntled by his preference for Hugh Despenser, and in 1321 Roger Mortimer rebels against his king. With Baron Mortimer rides Adam de Guirande, Mortimer’s most loyal man. But when Edward II strikes back, things look uncomfortably dark for Adam, who finds himself a prisoner—and abandoned by everyone but his wife.

Mortimer is defeated and locked up in the Tower. Some years later, however, he is back, now with the support of the king’s wife, Queen Isabella of France, and with the king’s very young heir, the future Edward III, in tow. Yet again, where Mortimer goes, there goes Adam—and his beloved wife.