Charles II, determined his people shall know peace and religious freedom, intrigues with Louis XIV for the money that will keep him independent of Parliament and dispel the shadows cast over the throne by his son Monmouth and his own brother, the Duke of York.When politics tire the Merry Monarch, there are always women ready to please him, and the King's passionate nature finds full rein in pretty, witty Nell Gwyn; the babyish good looks of Louise de Keroualle; and the languid beauty of violet-eyed Hortense Mancini...