The untimely death of Richard Coeur de Lion left his nephew Arthur and his younger brother John in contest for the throne of England...Reluctantly the barons chose Jon and their choice brought years of evil upon the realm. His unbridled sensuality, his fierce and terrible temper, his cruelty, idleness and injustice made King John hated and feared...Men came to believe that the house of Anjou was tainted by the Devil's blood, that the loathsome monarch was himself Evil Incarnate, the very Prince of Darkness...