Overview: Christmastime 1183.  Henry II of England has had his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, imprisoned for ten years.  He visits her along with their three sons, and everyone schemes with and against everyone else to determine the next king of England.

Henry's wife and children.  Left-to-right: The young boy, John (Christian Tarr), Eleanor (Debi Freund), the schemer Geoffrey (Nathan Rumney), and the eldest Richard Lionhart (Will Matus).	Henry (Robert Lunde) greets his wife, flanked by Alais (Marisa Clement), half-sister of the King of France.  Betrothed to Richard since age 8, she has since become Henry's mistress.
In the Great Hall, Henry receives King Phillip of France (Brian Rucci).
Geoffrey and Eleanor attempt to have a civil negotiation.	But that doesn't last long.
Later in her chamber, Eleanor attempts to manipulate Henry.  It goes without saying that she is not successful.
Later, in Philip's chamber, the sons each attempt to plot with Philip, or spy on his brother's attempt.  Some are less skilled than others.	Henry, of course, is not conned easily.  Philip is mostly amused.
Tired of these plots, Henry throws his sons into the dungeon.  Eleanor sneaks down with weapons and tries to persuade them to stage a coup.	The king had suspected this as well, and confronts them all.

Jerry Zalewski photos