Geoffrey Hotspur, orphan-squire and ward of the powerful John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, longs to return home to France. Having fought in the ranks of the now disbanded papal armies in Italy, he finds himself penniless and stuck in a foreign land far from his native Avignon, with only a resentful and unscrupulous debt collector as companion. He misses the warm bosom of the Great Hall, the company of his fellow squires and the kind words of the chatelaine, Anne de Roet. Above all, though, Geoffrey fears losing his place at court, and so he must by all means and with speed make his way back to the halls of Gaunt or risk being forsaken by the only family he has known. But when Geoffrey and his English Free Company take a job protecting pilgrims headed north, he meets a beguiling young woman, heiress of an old and distinguished crusader family of Cyprus, who fuels his fantasies about courtly love and confuses his priorities. Meanwhile, to reach the safety of Avignon, Geoffrey must traverse northern Italy, where the clouds of war are gathering... Twelve year old Niccolo, the new marquis of Ferrara and heir to the strategic lands of the Este family, is under siege. His right to the throne is being contested by his uncle, the old Visconti captain-general Azzo d'Este, who has been cultivating allies and gathering men-at-arms since the death of the old marquis in 1393—and he is almost ready to strike. Outnumbered and insecure because of his questionable legitimacy, Niccolo must gather an army of his own if he is to defend his birthright. However, with limited resources and vassals deserting him left and right, the young marquis must keep his wits about him if he is to negotiate the perilous waters of family politics. When the paths of the errant squire and troubled marquis cross, their fates intertwine as each endeavors to take from the other what he needs.