King Charlemagne's eldest daughter, Rotrud, is disgusted with her father. Buoyant and excited, she is in love with the third-born son of a Frankish count. But her father denies her the right to marry! In the past, he often told her and Bertha they could never marry, that he wanted them always in his manor. He would not risk their happiness in a joining. But Rotrud never believed he would actually deny her and Bertha husbands! It was insane! Was it folly to want a home and children? His often-spoke commitment to a 'Christian' realm seemed not to recognize the Church's injunction to marry and procreate. In the midst of war, issues with his sons, and a destructive wife, Rotrud has no choice but to defy her father - Charlemagne, the Great.