740: Chiltrude, the daughter of Francia's most powerful family, aspires to wed her beloved Odilo, the duke of Bavaria, and rule by his side. But her dying father forbids the marriage. As her brothers' rivalry threatens to shatter the realm, she faces imprisonment in an abbey and fears for the baby in her womb.

Defying her kinsmen, she will risk everything to seize her heart's desire, protect her child, and preserve Bavaria's cherished independence. Amid the shifting loyalties of the duchy's influential clans, she must outmaneuver Odilo's archrival, her hostile in-laws, and most of all, her own brothers.

In Duchess of the New Dawn, Kim Rendfeld brings to life forgotten historical characters and events from the days of Charles Martel and tells the story of one woman's determination to choose her own path.