Ten years have passed since the aged Baroness Ailena Valaise was ruthlessly turned out of her castle by her treacherous son Guy. Now she has returned, no longer a frail dowager, but a maiden of enigmatic beauty. Claiming to have been restored to her youth by a drink from the Holy Grail, this perfect replica of a younger Ailena announces that she is heeding God's message to return home and end Guy's tyrannical reign.

Is she a living miracle, or a bold impostor? Erec, the strong, brash leader of the Welsh rebels, is a believer who risks his life against his Norman enemies to win her hand in marriage. Thomas, the baroness' grandson, prays that she is an impostor, lest his forbidden passion for her damn him forever. But most tormented of all is Ailena herself, who can neither succumb to the iron will of Guy nor to the blindness of power ... or the yearnings of love.