The Leper's last heir;
a kingdom all but lost...
With the loss of Jherusalem three years before, only Tyre under Conrad de Montferrat remains to stand against the tide of Islam. Even though the dispossessed king lays siege to Muslim held Acre, calls begin to spread for new leadership centered around the young princess, Isabella d'Anjou, the Leper King's last heir, whom they wish to force into a new marriage against her will. But things are never as they seem, especially in the Kingdom of Jherusalem. As the master of Sion sets his long-awaited plans into motion, Isabella must rely on a small group of allies-her husband Humphrey, and their friend Ernoul, along with the Magdalen and her daughter Salome-to fight the hidden enemies of the embattled kingdom, even as the knights of a new crusade march to war against Salehdin under Richard the Lionheart and his nephew Henri de Champagne. But what sacrifices must Isabella make for the sake of the kingdom-and can they trust the secretive Salome to help defeat the sinister Order of Sion at last before the kingdom ends up under its control... or will she betray them all to Amalric de Lusignan?