1314, Paris. Pope Clement has destroyed the Order of Knights Templar, wrongly persuaded of their corruption. Watching through a veil of tears as his friends die at the stake, a surviving knight swears vengeance on their accusers. 1316, Devon. The newly appointed bailiff of Lydford Castle, Simon Puttock, is called to the village where a charred body has been found in a burned-out cottage. Unaccustomed to violence in this peaceful area, Simon assumes...

"England, 1324 -- a land rife with superstition and gripped by fear of the Church's holy wrath. When a beggar is murdered in the quiet village of Bottesford, his body draped across the altar of St. Mary's church in a perverse pose of pagan sacrifice, the Pope's Inquisitor General places the small hamlet in his sights. Anxious to stave off the Inquisition, the Bishop of Lincoln dispatches Thomas Lester, son of a disgraced Templar Knight, to investigate...

"Young Eleanor has two men in her life: her uncle King Edward II, and her husband Hugh le Despenser, a mere knight but the newfound favorite of the king. She has no desire to meddle in royal affairs-- she wishes for a serene, simple life with her family. But as political unrest sweeps the land, Eleanor, sharply intelligent yet blindly naive, becomes the only woman each man can trust"--P. [4] of cover.

Hosted and based on the book by Dr. Helen Castor, and filmed on location in England and France, this BBC series explores the lives of seven English queens who challenged male power, the fierce and fiery reactions they provoked, and whether, in fact, much has changed.