A REALM ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER... Home to many a serpent, in the hands of its stricken king, Jerusalem awaits with bated breath the outcome of the struggle between two great faiths of the age. In the treacherous pit that is cradle to ambition and power, the most insignificant of actions can have the loudest echo. So it is that temptation comes on the doorstep of an innocent. BORN INTO OBSCURITY... Maria Melania seeks refuge behind the convent walls, hoping she will one day be released from all earthly wants. But her learning and quick mind push her into the service of the high court ladies and ultimately into a tumultous romance. Pressed from all sides, her choices soon gain unexpected power. CROWNED KING AT A TENDER AGE... Baldwin finds the business of ruling a task after his own measure. Though touched by the curse of leprosy, he forges ahead undaunted, spending all his strength in the defence of his kingdom. A kingdom increasignly dependent on the kindness of his Angevine kindred the more strength his enemy gain and the more he is plagued by failing health. BROUGHT TOGETHER... King Baldwin and a mere a unfortunate of fate must strive to find the pattern in God's plans when all seems to be ripping apart at the seams.