Summary

The war that did not appear likely to ever end is winding down. A generation of central Europeans cannot remember a time when the war was not going on. Knowing the end is nearing, Elizabeth, a widow, still living in elaborate poverty in the Hague, heads back to western Germany, back to Westphalia where the terms of armistice were being worked out by ministers and diplomats from both Catholic and Protestant sides. After the decisive intervention of the massive Swedish army in the last year, the agreement promises to settle the decades’ long disputes over boundaries and national borders. Elizabeth journeys to Westphalia in disguise and with only a small entourage. She is on a mission: reclaim the throne of Bohemia for her remaining son. Despite years of living in disgrace and loneliness, Elizabeth, more than 50 years old, still carries herself with dignity and...