Thirteen-year-old Eleanor lives in a palace in Poitier, France, with her father, Count William of Aquitaine, and her younger sister, Petronilla. Mischievous and daring, Eleanor's daily exploits are a constant source of frustration to her grandmother and ladies-in-waiting, who are the girls' caretakers. Eleanor's life is turned upside-down, however, as her father goes off to fight in the invasion of Normandy, and her safety, as well as that of her sister's, is at risk from his enemies. Then, at age fifteen, Eleanor is forced into a new role when her father dies and she is betrothed to sixteen-year-old Prince Louis VII of France. When Louis' father, King Louis VI, dies suddenly, Louis VII becomes King - and young Eleanor is now Queen of France!