No fighting man can go into the battle thinking of death, for to do so
is to risk bringing on that very fate.
Twelth Century, Italy. The domination of the Normans, the most feared
warriors in Christendom, is causing trouble. At their head is the feared
Robert de Hauteville, the 'Guiscard', who has colonised much of Italy
and now commands the triple Dukedom of the extended Norman family, but
Robert has made many enemies, including the ever-powerful papacy in
Rome. The newly elected Pope Gregory excercises his vendetta against the
Normans by encouraging them to sail to Byzantium and fight the Turks.
But first he must deal with the Guiscard.
As Robert successfully suppresses a Lombard revolt, punishing the
traitors with unrestrained brutality, his first-born, Bohemund, now 17
and blessed with the strength, height, and military prowess of his
father, has come to fight in his army. Already recognised as a
formidable warrior, Bohemund seeks to assert his natural right as the
heir of Robert's dukedom--but this is not without difficultly and
conflict as Robert's second son, Borsa, is now legally entitled to
inherit. A battle between the sons is inevitable, and loyalties and
blood ties will count for nothing.
