From Turtledove
Versailles was a medieval kingdom centered on the city of
Paris. As the
Black Plague had killed over 80% of Europe's population, the city never became more than a dirty medieval town, a fact
Annette Klein was frustrated to notice. The kingdom was ruled in the twenty-first century by
King Charles but real authority lay in the hands of the capable Duke
Raoul who, aware of the weak position of his
Christian duchy, effectively played off the various
Muslim states to the south.