It is the time of 'The Eight Years War,' a religious conflict raging in the Low Countries as Spain sought to dominate the region with influence and religion. Set principally between the years 1571-74 this colourful tale embraces the sieges of Haarlem and Leyden. This is a gripping story of a young Dutch heroine and her cousin in a time of war, rebellion, pestilence and the shadow of the scaffold in the time of the Emperor Charles V.