The year is 1300. All hell is breaking loose at the court of Phillipe le Bel, king of France. Against a backdrop of wars and rumors of more wars, of political maneuvering and illegitimate enrichment, stories play out that have tragic human consequences and repercussions far into the future.

Midnight meetings are held furtively to determine the balance of power at court. Phillipe’s daughter, Isabelle, steals off to see an illicit lover; the Inquisition rages throughout the south; princesses take lovers; lovers are executed. A pope pays the king back for political favors, and Isabelle, the new queen of England, struggles with a loveless marriage.

The king’s three sons have married young and beautiful girls from Burgundy. Two of the princesses are soon bored and take lovers; the third facilitates their meetings, but adultery is treason when the sons of kings are being betrayed. Isabelle, Isabelle is persuaded to travel to her father’s court and denounce the princesses; two of them will die in prison.

During Philippe’s reign, border skirmishes with Flanders escalate into a full-scale war, a harbinger of the Hundred Years’ War. Another of Philippe’s targets is the Templars–warrior-monks during the Crusades and the moneylenders of Europe ever since. The King of France owes them more money than most people can count; his debt will cost them their existence. He stages a coup and ends up burning Jacques de Molay at the stake.

The Grand Master has the last laugh, however. His dying curse–calling both Philippe and the pope to meet him in hell before year’s end–foretells the death of both men within the time he predicts.