This is the delightfully intimate story of the tenth-century Byzantine princess, Theophano, wife of Otto II, the Holy Roman Emperor. When her husband was killed in battle, Theophano became Regent for her infant son, Otto III, and ruled the Holy Roman Empire for a decade. The novel's rousing climax is one of the great Dark Ages wars of succession, when Theophano's son became a pawn in the hands of the Frankish king.

A rigorously accurate historical novel, The Eagle's Daughter is also a lush romance-a tale of Theophano's Aunt Aspasia's very dangerous love affair with Otto the Great's Moorish physician. Aspasia was a royal princess in her own right, a widow who was companion and advisor to Theophano. Through her eyes the listener sees the contrast between the surviving Byzantine Empire and the re-emerging Western Empire.