The narrative historical novel from the harsh 11th century tells the story of the first Czech king Vratislav, who helped Henry IV. at the imperial coronation in Rome. Although Vratislav was the second-born and succeeded to the throne after his brother Spytihněv, he became a powerful monarch, he was well-versed in imperial and curial politics, his wives Adléta Uherská and Svatava Polská were extraordinary women who raised his court to the royal level. Vratislav built Prague Castle and the chapter house at Vyšehrad, and his life was accompanied by war and love adventures. He was the first Czech monarch to whom his subjects gave the epithet Kind, and he ruled over them for more than thirty years.