King Charlemagne waits impatiently for Oliver's return. Will his Peer find Hildegard, the love of his life, or has he lost her forever? Will his siege of Pavia succeed and, finally, cut the legs off the Lombard king's obsession with overtaking his realm? The King continues to fight the Saxons, re-organizes the church, and implements educational opportunities for his people. At the same time, his two most-beloved Peers - Roland and Oliver - struggle to win the love of the same woman. His family grows, as he delightedly welcomes a daughter and another son. His power increases but so do personal threats to his family and military expectations from the Pope. His domestic happiness, his wife's insightful mind and compassionate nature, his growing governing abilities, his soldier's mind - all aid in securing and improving the lives of his people. Still, death and invasion threaten, poverty and ignorance abound. Betrayal seethes in the air. Become a member of King Charlemagne's court, join his king's guard, see him from the eyes of a Peer. And understand the story behind the 'beacon in the darkness' of Europe's medieval age.