When Wilhelmine turns twenty-one, she wishes, not for the first time, that she was a warrior, a knight, who could protect her beloved younger brother from his detractors, who could raise a sword against anyone who beat him and brought him to tears, even if it was their own father, the King -- maybe Frederick wouldn't be planning to run away without her then, leave her behind to escape his misery, two soldiers at his side instead.

When she is forty-seven, feeling her life slip away from her bit by bit, she writes desperate letters, wishing she was an Amazon, could ride into battle at her brother's side, vanquish his too many enemies - not under the banner of glory and state, but of heartfelt love. It's all she ever wanted in the end: for him to be safe, and to love her back with all his heart.