July, 1137.  In the baking sunshine of Bordeaux, Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, eagerly awaits her first meeting with the prince who will become her husband.  But Louis Capet is no fit match for educated, independent Eleanor.  When he inherits the throne of France it becomes clear that his monastic ways and indecisive rule could cost him his country – and his marriage.  Determined to rule her own lands, Eleanor leads the men of Aquitaine on Crusade.  The march to Outremer will make her the most scandalous woman in all of Christendom.  And one chance meeting between Eleanor and Henry Plantagenet will change the fate of England – forever …