Goldstone provides a very in-depth look into the lives of the four daughters of the Count and Countess of Provence, three of whom (Marguerite, Eleanor, and Beatrice) were exceedingly ambitious. The book details the lengths to which the aforementioned ambitious women would go to gain international glory and respect, many times foiling one another's schemes to achieve their individual ends. What could've been a boring and dry account of medieval life is made vivid and exciting by Goldstone, and the daughters' lives are so interconnected by the royalty into which they all marry that their biographies weave in and out of one another to compose a lengthy and lavish tapestry. The account reads like a novel most of the way through, and I even found myself rooting for some family members and hoping for others' comeuppances!