In a crumbling medieval castle overlooking unprosperous land in France, the mad lord Caesar lives with his beautiful wife, the sexually unrewarded but ever-hopeful Bonne, and a few cynical retainers. Caesar is lost in other lands, his madness holding the castle in a state of unreality, until the arrival of the young killer, Amanieu, wakes this isolated household from its dreams. Extraordinary events ensue, from Bonne s battle with the bees to Caesar s joust with the German giant who seeks revenge for the murder of his brother. While the lord and his lady soar to ever greater heights of illusion, their daughter Flore travels through myths of her own and leaves her childhood behind her. William Watson s exceptional novel, a skilful combination of fantasy and realism set in the land of the troubadours, is a tour de force of wit, invention and originality.