content: but is well worth the wait. If you've read Ms. Dain before then you know that she is a good writer. This book starts slow. I should say the first few pages are intriguing and then the next 25 are slow. This is called "building the characters".If you put the book down at this point then you really miss out on the whole story. Elsbeth's "Period" plays a small part in the beginning of her unwanted marriage to Hugh of Jeruselem. Maybe someone didn't continue on but the story of an unwanted marriage and trickery on Hugh's part are what the story are about.