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. Above all, though, Geoffrey fears losing his place at court, and so he must make his way back to the halls of Gaunt or risk being forsaken by the only family he has known. 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. Outnumbered and insecure because of his questionable legitimacy, Niccolo must gather an army of his own. 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.