King Henry II, exhausted from everlasting conflict with France and the bad habit of his sons rebelling against their father finds love, solace, and passion after falling for the youthful beauty of Alys​ and makes her his mistress.
 
Henry II, now in his late 50’s, exhausted from a lifetime of war remains one of the greatest Kings who ruled England. The founder of the ‘Devil’s Brood’, he and his advisors modernized England’s government, law, warfare, society and much more. But it was his jealous family life which caused his life to fall apart.
 
Alys was the timid 8-year-old daughter of the King of France, sent to England and forced into marriage with Henry’s violent son Prince Richard, who rejected and ridiculed her.
 
Within six years, Alys had developed into a ravishing beauty, who was suddenly appealing to the old King himself.
 
As they grew closer, Alys realised she could only save herself by becoming more powerful. She didn’t want to be a royal mistress like Rosamund, or a princess married to a violent and absent prince like Richard. No, her ambition was to become queen, to replace the formidable, feisty monarch, Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most beautiful powerful and wealthy women in the world.
 
When a son, William, is born to old Henry and Alys, the young Princess now has her life complete, but she needs desperately to succeed and protect him. England has become a maelstrom of baronial factions with Eleanor marshalling her sons, Young Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John who intend to overthrow their father and take possession of his empire. All want the right to rule their own lands, even before old Henry is dead.
 
But once the old king dies, who will protect Henry's latest son, William, and his mother Alys, from the assassin’s sword? Who will save Alys? The moment old Henry dies, their necks will follow immediately.
 
Alone in the castle, surrounded by enemies, Alys must measure every step as if it was her last, knowing that her life and that of her son, are entirely in her hands. And old Henry, the most powerful and ruthless monarch in the world, is powerless to help her against his wife Eleanor and her four sons. So, realizing that she and her son’s life depend only on her own cunning, the innocent and naïve Alys sets about beating four strong avaricious men at their own game, a band of brothers who are supported by the world’s most devious mother.
 
If you remember the joys of seeing Lion in Winter, the classic movie with Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn, then this is a book you must read. This takes Lion in Winter through the bedroom doors and into the court of medieval intrigue. This is what happens behind the closed doors of Windsor Castle. The most explosive love story which the Middle Ages has to offer.