Scion of one of England's noble families, Harold is content to lead a quiet life on a modest estate with his common-law wife Edith, ignoring the political machinations of court. But the winds of fate are capricious, and Harold finds himself thrust into a battle royal for the English throne. When his older brother is killed, Harold finds it is he who will inherit not only his father's earldom, but the crown itself. Forced into a marriage of political alliance with a titled woman he does not love, the reluctant King Harold is set in deadly opposition to his old friend, Duke William of Normandy. And, though forbidden by the Church to marry her, he loved only one woman all his life. Edith lived 20 years with him and bore his children; it was she, not his queen, who was with him as he faced William the Conqueror on the last day. This is the story of their great love -- a heartrending story of passion, friendship, betrayal, and intrigue that has become legend.