In Clothar the Frank, the first novel of a two-book miniseries called The Golden Eagle, Jack Whyte invites us to explore his cast of fascinating characters during the reign and tragic downfall of the Riothamus Arthur, High King of All Britain.
The power and majesty of Rome is no more. Military units that patrolled the known world have been called home to prop up a dying empire. Outer provinces that once thrived under the rule of law are now open to attack. Clothar, the son of a Frankish lordling, has been sent to one of the few schools left in Europe where logic and philosophy are taught along with battle techniques. In this cruel new world where the veneer of civilization is being held together by the sword rather than the law, Clothar grows to manhood and vows to uphold the concepts of justice and righteousness and help his people to live in peace.
That vow is tested when his family is destroyed by a heinous act of betrayal. Revenge is all he can think of...but it is a path that would most certainly mean his death, and his mentor convinces Clothar to embark on another way. If he cannot save his own people from the barbarians, he can go to the aid of another who has the men and arms to do just that. There is a new High King in Britain, a young man called Arthur Pendragon, who supposedly intends to replace barbarism with law in his own realm. Clothar readily swears fealty to Arthur, and together they set out to build the last great hope for all that is good and noble. But both of them will fall in love with a woman who shares their dream...and whose love for them might destroy everything they have wrought.
