During a Christmas Court in 1183 in Chinon Castle in France, Henry II, king of England, gathers his three sons, Richard, Geoffrey and John; his estranged wife, the redoubtable Eleanor of Aquitaine; Philip, the young king of France; and Alais Capet, Henry's mistress and Philip's sister. His purpose is to establish an heir to the English throne while maintaining the political equilibrium of his kingdom - not an easy affair when all parties concerned are ambitious and willing to fight to gain the upper hand, most particularly, Queen Eleanor. Goldman's play is a series of challenges, feints, compromises and reversals, delivered with wit, humor, dramatic power, and a contemporary irony that spares no one. This is a contemporary dysfunctional family in 12th century garb.