Depicts the life of the Habsburg princess's son Pedro, who became the second emperor of Brazil following his father's abdication. The narrative is structured around the aging monarch's voyage into exile in Europe following his own abdication in 1889, and presents from that perspective his memories of the significant events in the career of a modern "prince of peace" who successfully follows the course set for him and Brazil by his mother, resolves important problems that hinder the transformation of a primitive empire into a republic, and then abdicates his throne when he recognizes that it is in the best interests of Brazil for him to do so.