Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James, John Dillinger. They robbed banks. But it was the most accomplished robbers in history who showed them where the banks were.

A figure arose from the shadows. A crafty survivor who became more powerful than kings for he was a maker of kings. No one stood in his way. Not even the Queen of England.

Emma of Normandy prepares to sail across a narrow sea to wed a famous king. But is she ready to wed a king unready to fight, unready to rule, unready to save his kingdom?

What was crazy bread and why was it eaten by peasants to stave off hunger and give them a summer of love? Welcome to Y1K and the world of young Emma of Normandy.

For a half century she bent history to her will. Everything that turned touched her. And she turned everything she touched. But first, she had to put away her playthings.

They sought her blood. They readied the rope. They dug her grave. What would remain as cold death beckoned her to churchyards filled with stones and bones?

A scholar, a fighter, a passionate lover and a cunning political manipulator. The very model of a medieval ruler. But this medieval ruler was not a man. This power player was a woman. And England was her chessboard.