A modern author, a member of a wealthy family, a decadent dynasty, a re-established king and a disillusioned knight look for meaning in the murderous tumult of medieval Europe.

The contemporary writer featured in the tale is commissioned to turn the century-spanning dairies of the noble Novak family into a book. To do so, he has to plumb the depths of debauchery, corruption and brutal wars in a medieval society that is struggling to define itself. He then falls in love with a noble woman and sees her killed by a villainous lordling.

His revenge is horrendous, and his subsequent mysterious death is wrapped up in his fatal return to the East in search of the strange, unearthly woman of long ago.