In a land near the Baltic and Kievan Rus dwelled an innocent young noblewoman, a gifted lady like no other, whose presence, a legend in her lifetime, set the standard of womanhood against which all others are judged. Her father the king, urgently required at the extreme edge of the kingdom, must leave behind his beloved daughter in a now inadequately defended castle. He decides to enlist twelve knights from across Europe to be her bodyguard, to protect her until his return.The leader of these knights wins her heart - an attraction engineered by the spirits of Arcadia.However, their love contradicts the chivalric order and displeases the king, setting in motion a tragedy for the soldier and the princess.The heroic actions of a Teutonic knight carrying a terrible war wound, and the brave efforts of a diminutive, disabled servant girl, her affliction wrought at conception, strive to bring positive closure to this ancient saga.