It is 1234 and the Albigensian Crusade has ended.Heretic Olivier de Mazan possesses a secret that makes him a prime target of the inquisition's secular thugs. At the same time, Count Raimond of Toulouse and Queen Blanche of France are using the boudoir to pursue the policies of their respective dynasties. Olivier's grandsons - Odon and Rainier - come of age fighting French occupiers and are aided by Robin Hood's son, a veteran mercenary. Along the way, the lovely performer Huguetta steals Odon's heart, and Rainier loses his own to Miranda, who embodies Olivier's secret. In contrast, Count Raimond risks a rupture with Blanche by attempting to save his dynasty via strategic marriages and consequently delays rescuing his subjects trapped in the mountain fastness of Montségur, "Mount Secure." The saga of a Provencal family struggling against foreign invaders continues in this historical novel, the second in the trilogy Ordeal by Fire.