Kings are like jesters. They dazzle their subjects with their antics so that they do not notice the kingdom is falling apart. In the year 951 AD: The young Gaidemar, a bastard of noble but unknown origin and a knight in King Otto's cavalry legion, receives a dangerous mission: He is to rescue the Italian queen Adelheid from captivity in Garda. During their escape, he falls in love with Adelheid, but she marries King Otto. Nevertheless, Gaidemar rises to become the queen's confidant and achieves victory over the Hungarians alongside Otto at the Battle of Lechfeld. Eventually, he becomes engaged to the daughter of a powerful Slavic prince, and the stain of his birth seems to be finally erased. However, Adelheid and Gaidemar are unaware that their most dangerous enemy is far from defeated, and as they set off to Rome for Otto's coronation, it threatens to become their downfall.